British Columbia woman Carla Ann Pederson is suing her neighbor, Ludovic Bedard, for more than $2,700 after her Persian cat was attacked by two large dogs in front of her home and had to be euthanized due to the severity of her injuries.

Pederson explained in her complaint to the Civil Resolution Tribunal that she was able to identify the dogs’ owner through social media after the attack. Cowichan Valley Animal Control also reported that Bedard had been ticketed several times for leaving her dogs off-leash.

However, Judge Micah Carmody ruled that simply violating a city ordinance or allowing dogs to roam free was not enough to prove “recklessness.” She emphasized that in order to be held liable, the owner must be able to prove that the dog was aware of the dog’s propensity for dangerous behavior.

The court noted that subsequent attacks by the dogs or statements that they were “dangerous” after the incident could not be considered evidence because they occurred after the attack on the cat. Also, the breed of the dogs—a Kinksore and a German Shepherd—was not evidence of aggression in itself.

Ultimately, the court ruled that while the evidence showed that the dogs were the perpetrators of the attack, Pederson had failed to prove that he had failed to control them, so his claim for damages was dismissed.

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