On October 7, 2013, the accused was charged with driving a vehicle while impaired by drugs, having possession of a knife for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, having possession of a stolen licence plate, evading police in a motor vehicle by failing to stop when signaled to do so, resisting arrest, and killing a police service dog. This case became the basis for Quanto’s Law, or the Justice for Animals in Service Act which made it a Criminal Code offence with additional penalties for killing or injuring law enforcement animals, military animals and service animals.
The accused had been fleeing from the police after an attempt was made to pull him over. The car that he was driving finally came to a stop once the tires were flattened from the defendant driving over multiple curbs. Police dog Quanto was released to apprehend the accused, and once the dog reached him, he stabbed the dog repeatedly with the knife and killing him.
The lengthy decision on sentencing from the court includes useful comments regarding relationships with animals, such as “humans form bonds with animals. Often very strong bonds. And these bonds can be just as strong as they are sometimes with humans and are an integral part of the fabric of our society” and that the accused’s killing of Quanto was “not just an attack on the dog […] — just as an attack on a fellow human being is not just an attack on that individual. It is an attack on your society. And it is an attack on what is meaningful in society and the values that the members of our society care about and sometimes care about deeply”(p.10, para 3-4).
The accused was sentenced to 26 months of incarceration, including 18 months for killing Quanto, a 25-year prohibition from pet ownership, and a 5-year prohibition from driving.
R. v. Vukmanich 2014 AJ 1541