Humane Society Inspector Suspended Over Handcuff Incident
Thursday August 9, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
He rushed in to save a dying dog - and it's cost him some of his power. You'll remember the horrifying story that took place two weeks ago - when Toronto Humane Society inspector Tre Smith was alerted to a Rottweiler named Cyrus trapped in a sealed and roasting car during a blistering heat wave, with internal temperatures approaching 70C.

With the creature near death, Smith broke in the window, sending the owner out to answer his car alarm. With a choice between letting the dog die and hanging on to a man accused of animal cruelty, Smith made a difficult decision. He  handcuffed the man to his car and left him there to tend to Cyrus.

By the time police arrived, the captive man was bleeding, having been allegedly attacked by angry bystanders who witnessed the incident. "The police hadn't got here just yet but they were almost here, and I had to leave because the dog was non-responsive, had stopped breathing and I had to stimulate the dog just to bring him back," he recalled then. "So I had to leave for the life of the dog."

But that decision has now cost Smith dearly. The Ontario SPCA suspended the investigator's license on Thursday. Smith is the kind of man who puts his heart and soul into his work and he isn't taking the decision lightly. To see his reaction, catch CityNews Tonight at 11.

The good news in all this is that Cyrus is making a remarkable recovery. To find out more about his progress, click here.

As you can't click, here is the update on Cyrus:

http://www.torontohumanesociety.com:80/

Tre who helped save Cyrus should be given a medal for being a hero!