Surrey councillor Linda Annis faces lawsuit over dog-bite incident

A lawsuit has been filed in B.C. Supreme Court against Surrey councillor and mayoral candidate Linda Annis over an incident in which her Dalmatian, Ron, bit a man. Global News obtained City of Surrey documents through freedom of information requests over three months confirming the incident.

The man, whose identity is not being published for privacy reasons, said the wound reached muscle and left a lifelong scar. He said a text message to Annis saying he received 27 stitches contained a typo; he said he actually received between nine and 11 stitches.

Annis told Global News in June that Ron was about 20 feet away when a man approached him and the dog went into defence mode and bit the man. She was fined $700: $300 related to the attack and $400 because her dogs were unlicensed, which she described as an oversight.

Ron must now be muzzled in public, cannot go to dog parks, and Annis must post a sign in her yard alerting neighbours about the dog. In a statement Monday, Annis said the incident shocked and upset her, was out of character for the dog, and that she accepts responsibility for her dog’s behaviour.

University of Manitoba ethics professor Arthur Schafer said describing the incident as a nip minimized it to the point of deception. The lawsuit seeks general and special damages. No statement of defence has been filed, and none of the allegations has been proven in court.