A new law inspired by the death of an Edmonton police dog, will now see anybody convicted of intentionally killing a service animal face a possible sentence of up to five years behind bars.
Quanto's Law, which came into effect Thursday, was named after the Edmonton police dog that was stabbed to death while chasing down a suspect in a parking lot.
Paul Joseph Vukmanich was sentenced to 26 months after pleading guilty to six charges, including one for killing the dog. At the time, the only charge that could be laid relating to the death of Quanto was animal cruelty, accounting for 18 months of the total sentence.
The sentencing prompted heated discussion Canada-wide about the need to send a strong message to those who would hurt a service animal.
In 2014, the federal Conservatives brought forward Bill C-35; the Justice for Animals in Service Act, and passed the legislation creating a specific charge for harming service animals, including police dogs, horses, and other service animals.
On Thursday, Multiculturalism Minister Tim Uppal joined Edmonton police officers to officially mark the enactment of the new law.
"This sends a strong message to anyone that was to injure or kill a service animal in the line of duty will be met with very serious consequences," Uppal said. "They're there to protect us and we should be protecting them."
"The service that our dogs and service animals in general are capable of providing is really remarkable," said Sgt. Adam Segin, the Canine Unit Acting Staff Sergeant for the Edmonton Police. "It's nice that there's now this formal recognition of their service, how valuable it is."
