{"id":38202,"date":"2026-05-21T13:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=38202"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:36:19","slug":"provincial-authorities-now-involved-in-heiniu-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/provincial-authorities-now-involved-in-heiniu-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Provincial authorities now involved in Heiniu investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Province of Ontario\u2019s Animal Welfare Services Branch is among the multi-level bodies that are now investigating the death of Heiniu, a rottweiler that lost its life during an Animal Control call in East Gwillimbury involving Aurora officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At issue was an Animal Control call to two dogs running at large in the Holland Landing community on May 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call resulted in the death of Heiniu, one of the two dogs in question, leaving its owners, the family that corralled the two dogs, and community members alike left asking questions and seeking justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, photos and videos of the dog lying on a driveway with blood appearing to be coming out of its mouth sparked widespread anger, culminating in a \u201cJustice for Heiniu\u201d rally held at Aurora Town Hall and along Wellington Street East on May 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to calls for justice, those who rallied in solidarity called for a more fulsome response from the Town of Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some say they are still waiting for that response, Mayor Tom Mrakas offered a formal statement on behalf of Council at last week\u2019s General Committee meeting, followed by an update from Municipal Solicitor Patricia De Sario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to acknowledge the tragic incident that occurred last week and the concern being expressed by members of the public following the death of Heiniu, a rottweiler in East Gwillimbury,\u201d said Mayor Mrakas. \u201cOur thoughts are with the dog owners, the witnesses, responders, and everyone affected by this difficult incident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her statement, Ms. De Sario noted she has cautioned elected officials from speaking further on the matter as the investigation continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Town is reviewing the matter and cooperating with the dog owners, appropriate authorities and oversight bodies, including the Province\u2019s Animal Welfare Services Branch, Public Safety Division,\u201d she said. \u201cAs this process is ongoing, the Town is unable to provide additional details at this time. While I appreciate that some members of the public may be frustrated by the limited information that can be shared at this stage, the Town is limited in what information can be publicly disclosed due to legal obligations relating to privacy, employment matters, procedural fairness, and the integrity of the ongoing review process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven the above and the potential for litigation, Mayor and members of Council and staff are advised not to comment further, please, and the Town will provide additional information when appropriate and able to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Council members are unable to comment at this time, Ward 1 Councillor Ron Weese said he appreciated the updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important they (the public) know that we\u2019re being as transparent as we can on this and what they can expect and when,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement issued by the Town of Aurora following last Saturday\u2019s rally the Town confirmed the basic details of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnimal Services staff responded to a call involving two dogs at large on May 4 in East Gwillimbury,\u201d said Carley Smith, Manager of Corporate Communications for the Town of Aurora. \u201cDuring efforts to safely secure one of the dogs, an officer sustained a bite injury requiring medical attention. Due to escalating safety concerns and the presence of bystanders, Animal Services Officers contacted York Regional Police for assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThroughout the incident, staff attempted to safely calm, care for, and secure the dog while protecting public safety. The dog later became medically unresponsive and transported to a veterinary clinic. This was a difficult and upsetting incident for everyone involved, including staff, witnesses, and the owners. The Town is reviewing the incident, and a full investigation is underway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witnesses continue to question the details of the statement and, in particular, the conduct of attending officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Province of Ontario\u2019s Animal Welfare Services Branch is among the multi-level bodies that are now investigating the death of Heiniu, a rottweiler that lost its life during an Animal Control call in East Gwillimbury involving Aurora officers. At issue was an Animal Control call to two dogs running at large in the Holland Landing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9Wa","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-28 18:23:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38203,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38202\/revisions\/38203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}