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Emotional testimony in vicious dog attack trial

Defence presents its case, but court ends early after panic attack
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The case of a Sudbury woman and her son accused of negligence after their dogs fatally attacked a neighbour's dog in January came to a sudden halt Wednesday. Angela Trauner (seen here in January), who is acting as her own defence counsel, and her son Nick Coppo are facing Provincial Offences Act charges of failing to keep care and control of Tank and Baz, the family dogs, a 100-pound mastiff mix and a 60-pound husky. 

The case of a Sudbury woman and her son accused of negligence after their dogs fatally attacked a neighbour's dog in January came to a sudden halt Wednesday.

Angela Trauner, who is acting as her own defence counsel, and her son Nick Coppo are facing Provincial Offences Act charges of failing to keep care and control of Tank and Raz, the family dogs, a 100-pound mastiff mix and a 60-pound husky. 

They're accused in the death of Tonka, an eight-year-old purebred Norwegian elkhound that was attacked outside his owner's home in Lively on Jan. 4 of this year 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 to do his business. She tied him to his leash and went back inside to have her morning coffee. 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, where they have remained pending the outcome of the trial.

Trauner began her defence Wednesday, and was able to call most of her witnesses. The first, Brooklyn Luoma, 17, stayed over at Trauner's house the night before the attack.

Luoma testified that she was friends with Trauner's daughter, Destiny, and stayed in her room that night. She left around 9:45 a.m. to catch a bus to Copper Cliff to go babysit her sister.

She said she was sure that one of the pups was in Coppo's room, while the other was in Trauner's room when she left. She also described the harassment she and others connected to the family endured after the story hit social media.

It became so severe, they had to avoid school for a few days.

“We were getting bullied so bad,” Luoma said, becoming emotional.

She became hostile when questioned by the Crown, and was reluctant to answer basic questions, such as where she lived.

“I don't think that's relevant,” she replied, before being instructed that she must answer whatever questions are posed to her.

She admitted that she now lives with Trauner, and testified that both canines weren't aggressive. 

“I spent enough time (there) to know how the dogs were,” she said.

Luoma said she went into Angela Trauner's room on her way out – around 9:45 a.m. on Jan. 4 -- and saw one of the dogs still in the bedroom. She again became hostile when the Crown suggested she didn't go into Trauner's room while she was still sleeping, and was providing testimony to protect the dogs.

“Why would I do that? I have no reason to lie,” she said. “I saw it with my very own two eyes.”

The next witness was Trauner's son, Braeden, who was in Parry Sound the day of the incident, but was home by the time bylaw and police officers came to investigate.

He also described the avalanche of abuse he endured because of social media, and entered a statement into the record of what went on, including threats and other negative posts.

“Since then, I missed a few days of school because of bullying and name calling,” he testified.

The next witness, Aiden Gillard, was a friend of the family who was living there temporarily.

He said Angela Trauner woke him up between 10-10:30 a.m. on the day of the incident because both dogs had somehow gotten out. Gillard and Trauner's daughter, Destiny, went looking for the pups, following dog tracks from the home. 

At one point, they saw a man in a truck with two huskies that also had gotten free from their owner. He got a text from Angela that the dogs were back home and headed back. 

“They seemed just like the day before,” Gillard said, when asked how the animals appeared to him. “They were both friendly dogs.”

They looked like they had gone for a run, he said, and showed no signs that they had been involved in a vicious attack, such as blood on their fur. One of the dogs is white. 

“So red would have shown up, I think,” Gillard said.

Under questioning from the Crown, he said he had no idea when the dogs got loose, admitting that “they could have been gone since I went to bed.”

The final witness of the day, Destiny Trauner, testified she was still in her pyjamas when she joined Gillard in the search for the missing dogs.  She also saw the two huskies in the truck, and testified that they look just like her dogs.

“They looked like our dogs, only bigger,” she said. “Our bull mastiff is part husky.”

She also testified there were five people sleeping in her room that night – herself, Luoma, Gillard and two male friends. She and Luoma slept on the bed, while everyone else slept on the floor. She wasn't sure when the two friends left, but said she thought it was around 6 a.m. to catch a bus.

Trauner became emotional when talking about trying to visit the dogs at the pound after they were seized by animal control. They were told they were trespassing and police would be called if they didn't leave.

“It wasn't right,” she said. “Dogs are family, too … We've had Tank and Raz since they were born.”

She began sobbing when shown pictures of the two dogs, and admitted she didn't want it to be true that her pets were the ones that attacked Tonka.

“I don't know,” she sobbed, when asked if her dogs were responsible.

After a break, Angela Trauner said her daughter was having panic attacks, and the justice of the peace agreed to end court early.

The case will resume Oct. 10 with Trauner's final defence witnesses. She may testify, as well, Trauner said.


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