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Rottweilers freed

Rottweilers Axle and Paris will not be executed and their "tumultuous" time at the Richmond Animal Protection Society city pound will soon come to an end.

Rottweilers Axle and Paris will not be executed and their "tumultuous" time at the Richmond Animal Protection Society city pound will soon come to an end.

Instead, a judge at Richmond Provincial Court approved an agreement between the city and the dogs' owners Friday afternoon.

Following training sessions by an animal behaviourist, the dogs will be released back to the home of the Nijjer family on Alberta Road adjacent to Henry Anderson elementary school with several conditions.

"We feel glad everything is over. It should have been over sooner," said Raj Nijjer, the father of Navdeep Nijjer, the registered owner of the dogs.

Raj attended the short court proceeding along with his wife, Prabjot. Both have made significant efforts to get the family dogs back since an animal bylaw officer seized them on Oct. 25, 2013. The Nijjers also made several pleas to the media and the community to raise awareness of the situation.

City of Richmond lawyer Jim Lees said in court the city's case would have been difficult to prove.

"There would have been many contentious issues in this trial, from proving which dog caused the bite on both occasions. We couldn't prove which dog bit on the first incident. And there were issues with respect to what the animal experts had to say and there were issues with regard to whether the injuries constituted a serious injury," Lees told the judge.

The case "would have stretched all the resources - the judicial resources and the resources of RAPS," said Lees, noting a trial would have lasted about six days.

He noted the trying time the dogs had faced.

"The five and a half months that the dogs have been in the care of RAPS have been tumultuous. It has obviously been a difficult time for the dogs and it was a difficult time for staff at RAPS. It put a strain on their resources."

Veterinarian records released by the Nijjer family indicated both dogs had become obese and gained 20-30 pounds.

Despite claims by the Nijjers, the City of Richmond never admitted the dogs were not being walked outside of the RAPS property. However, in a defense affidavit a RAPS staff member wrote that the dogs were ordered by the city to not leave RAPS property.

According to a news release from the city, the ultimate objective of detaining the dogs was to achieve "enforceable conditions for the future care of the animals that would reduce the risk to public safety, not actual destruction of the animals."

Only until an animal behaviourist deems the dogs pose no threat to the public and Navdeep completes dog-training classes, will Axle and Paris be able to return to their home.

The Nijjers' home must also provide a full enclosure for the animals in the backyard to comply with the city's Animal Control and Regulation Bylaw.

Lees said the Nijjers have done a lot of work to get their dogs back but noted if they put in "one quarter of the effort" shown now back when the first incident occurred, all of this could have been avoided.

Once released the dogs must be muzzled and leashed in public and confined at all times, either inside or in an outside enclosure, while at the Nijjer's home.

Navdeep must ensure that anyone caring for the dogs other than himself is aware of the compliance orders and has received dog training.

Furthermore, Navdeep must agree to pay for an animal behaviourist to visit Anderson elementary school and provide awareness classes at the request of its administrators.

Navdeep will also pay the city $2,000 in fines for two bylaw infractions.

Last October the dogs were found at large and one of them slightly bit a construction worker.

That incident followed two other incidents that resulted in the dogs being deemed "dangerous" by the city. The first, in September 2010, was a minor biting incident by one of the dogs involving a dachshund and another involved scaring children at the school.

Also, in April 2012, the dogs were loose in the backyard and were ticketed by bylaw officers for not being in an enclosure as is mandated for dogs that have been deemed dangerous.