A Sudbury man accused of negligence along with his mother after their dogs allegedly fatally attacked a neighbour's dog in January was called to the witness stand Tuesday.
Nick Coppo and his mother, Angela Trauner, are facing Provincial Offences Act charges of failing to keep care and control of Tank and Raz, the family dogs, a mastiff and a husky.
The dogs allegedly killed Tonka, an eight-year-old purebred Norwegian elkhound that was attacked outside of his owner's home in Lively on Jan. 4 of this year, allegedly by the two canines.
He later had to be euthanized because of the severity of his wounds.
In interview days after the attack, Terry Matthews, Tonka's owner, said she let Tonka out in the morning around 10 a.m. to do his business.
She tied him to his leash and went back inside to have her morning coffee. She said she heard him whimpering, and thought he just wanted to come back inside.
Trauner has denied her dogs were responsible, although admits her dogs were loose from the home at the time of the attack. But she has pointed to two huskies that were also loose at the time as possible culprits.
Trauner's dogs were seized by animal control officers Jan. 7, and have remained impounded pending the outcome of the trial.
Coppo was brought forward as a witness Tuesday by Trauner, who is acting as her own defence counsel, and then cross-examined by Assistant Crown Attorney Cecilia Martin.
He said he was not in the house at the time of the alleged incident, as he'd already gone to work earlier that morning.
Coppo, who was living in his mother's Lively home last January, said he found out about the incident that evening after he received a text about a Facebook post alluding to the attack, and then phoned his mother.
He said he doesn't believe the dogs were involved in the attack because “with an attack of that magnitude there should have been some kind of sign,” but there was no blood on their fur or any other sign.
In response to Martin's cross-examination, however, Coppo conceded that he doesn't know whether or not the dogs were involved in the attack, as he wasn't home, but hopes it isn't the case.
Martin asked if it was fair to describe the dogs as runners. Coppo answered in the affirmative, “since they were puppies.”
Trauner asked her son how the dogs being seized has affected him.
“It's hard – really hard,” Coppo replied. “It's not the same in the house. I don't have anything to look forward to every night.”
Coppo was Trauner's final defence witness. She said she will not be testifying herself. Final submissions will take place at 3 p.m. this afternoon.
