CORNWALL, Ontario – South Stormont council will decide whether its animal control officer will be kept.
Deputy Mayor Tammy Hart told Seaway News senior management met with Herb Waldroff Monday to get his version of events leading up to the killing of a stray dog in the township last week that set off a firestorm of criticism.
While two days of messages left for South Stormont CAO Betty de Haan and bylaw officer Andrew Downing resulted in exactly no responses, Hart confirmed council will receive the file at an upcoming meeting.
“There will be options (provided) to us and we will decide whether to keep him or not,” said Hart.
Hart conceded the event will likely boil down to a “he said/she said” ordeal.
“There’s got to be a total review,” she added.
A stray dog was killed by Waldroff on the morning of Dec. 1, with many residents openly questioning his motives, while others supported the move.
Residents in the area, some of whom were trying to corral the dog to return it to its owners and others who were feeding it, complained that they were fearful of letting their own pets out, for fear of the animal being killed in a similar fashion.
The dog was apparently chasing horses in the area and a complaint had been filed with the OPP. Waldroff was then tasked with finding the animal.
In an interview last week Downing indicated Waldroff found the dog in distress, perhaps having been hit by a vehicle.
When Waldroff was contacted by Seaway News he denied any knowledge of the incident, but Downing confirmed the animal died at the animal control officer’s hands, via a shotgun blast.
Hart could not say when exactly the meeting will take place, but suspects it will be one of the two upcoming council meetings in late December or early January.
She was likewise unsure about whether deliberations would take place behind closed doors, or in public.
Ultimately she wants the file as pubic as possible.
“As far as I am concerned the whole review should be out in the open,” she said.
