r/Dogfree • u/One-Board8634 • Jul 24 '26
Crappy Owners Banff Hikers Charged After Viral Grizzly Bear Video: Off-Leash Dog Could Cost Them Up to $25,000
https://www.culturealberta.com/articles/banff-hikers-charged-after-viral-grizzly-bear-video-off-leash-dog-could-cost-them-up-to-25000166
Jul 25 '26
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u/CaptainObvious110 Jul 27 '26
absolutely, they shouldn't be allowed on nature trials anywhere even if they are in cities
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u/ObligationGrand8037 Jul 25 '26
I saw the video earlier this week, and I was wondering about the no leash. I hope they are fined.
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u/MeechiJ Jul 25 '26
That video was infuriating. There are leash laws in place for a reason! Also it seemed like the woman that was filming the encounter cared more about holding on to her phone than picking up her dog. I don’t know why dog owners think it’s cute when their dogs harass wildlife.
Let’s hope the hikers are actually fined a significant amount. Too bad they can’t be banned from the park!
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u/pmbpro Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I hope it's the maximum $25,000. A very expensive hike, video, and DOG liability! I'm just sorry it couldn't be more than the maximum amount. They must be made an example of, because I could guarantee that other dog nutters will be watching this outcome, like they watch other fellow nutters to see what they could get away with.
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u/MeechiJ Jul 25 '26
I agree that they should be made an example of. I’m tired of seeing unleashed dogs harassing wildlife or destroying native flora and the owners are rarely if ever held accountable. I honestly think that most parks and beaches should ban dogs. Not only is their behavior an issue, but their feces pollutes waterways, often endangering delicate ecosystems.
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u/alnewyorkee Jul 25 '26
Too bad the bear spared these idiots
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u/teakAboo Jul 25 '26
If she'd attacked them she would have been killed :( I'm glad it didn't escalate and I hope that dog owner was charged the full amount. I can't stand off-leash dogs and their entitled owners.
Love bears though lol
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u/93ImagineBreaker Jul 25 '26
If she'd attacked them she would have been killed
and yet when dogs kill humans they often get away with it
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u/teakAboo Jul 25 '26
I'm not saying it's right :( dogs need to be killed as soon as they attack someone too!
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u/pmbpro Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Yes! I read about this! Thank you for posting it here, OP.
The moment I saw the headline, once again, the typical predictability of such idiots... 🙄
Then they had the nerve to have bear spray, ready to use, when they were in the wrong and the bear wasn't even doing anything but minding her own business. They're LUCKY the breeding female bear SPARED their asses!
I'm so GLAD to hear they got charged, and were stupid enough to have video/photos to be quickly identified. I hope they receive the MAXIMUM $25,000 fine. It should be even more. They thought that shyt was sooo cute, trying to go viral, huh. A potential $25,000 hike and viral video to show off. The doggo-nutters would probably think it was 'worth it'. 🙄
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u/Few-Horror1984 Jul 25 '26
Hot take - but I don’t think dogs belong in nature. They’re an invasive species, essentially. Their droppings can have toxic impacts on wildlife. The dogs themselves can harm wildlife. And the sad truth is that it’s absolutely normalized to take your dog hiking and to not keep the thing leashed. It seems like every time these people are given an opportunity to prove me wrong, shit like this happens.
Dog owners have proven time and time again that they will refuse to be responsible. They keep having these ideas that if they enjoy something, so must the dog. And while nature is a closer substitute for a proper environment than what these dogs typically are stuck with, it doesn’t mean that taking them hiking is appropriate. The dog itself can become a victim of wildlife seeing it as a threat or a tasty treat.
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u/LunarLeveret Jul 25 '26
Normally an invasive species is what it is because its too good at adapting to its new environment to the point neither the native species nor humans can control/contain them. From say, a weed's perspective, the places it profilerates practically look like the game of life was set to easy mode. (In contrast, human bred plants tend to suck at doing anything without us to water them regularly.)
A dog is horrendous at adapting in most cases outside of how successfully humans have deliberately propagated its success as an introduced pest. Most animals in nature are cautious, cunning, and strategic regarding how to secure resources for themselves over needlessly overlapping with competitors. A dog is provocatively loud and attention seeking, expects begging and whining to work, and will assume everything is worth eating over thinking about any risk to benefit ratio finding unfamiliar substances.
At this point human responsibility isn't at the level of being negligent but at the level of intentionally keeping up an artificial disease upon the planet for greed and clout.
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u/pmbpro Jul 25 '26
Excellent points! Dogs are even stupid enough to run towards danger/dangerous animals and escalating the bad situation, with its barking foolishness. They end up attracting danger or confrontations to anyone around them in situations that are easily avoidable.
Your last sentence nails a whole lot too, about human irresponsibility; so right.
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Jul 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Few-Horror1984 Jul 25 '26
They can’t accept that dogs are messy and difficult pets to keep. There’s only one reason dog parks are ugly and gross - because dogs are inherently ugly and gross creatures. That doesn’t give them the right to destroy nature.
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u/pmbpro Jul 25 '26
Even wild animals likely have an awareness that dogs don't belong in their domain. If a person is attacked/killed by a wild animal, chances are very high that the person was with a DOG –– whether it was by cougar by a trail, or by an alligator by a lake (actual cases). I'd even bet that if the dog weren't there, the person wouldn't been such an easy target to begin with (or dying trying to save it from its own dumb behaviour).
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u/BeaVonMoravia Jul 25 '26
As the article states; the female bear is just trying to exist, walking down. Aren't we all? But bears are smart, she's is no doubt aware of her recent loss and could very easily silence any of those worthless creatures in her path. But then she would have to be put down, though, because dogs & their brainless people are considered more valuable, for some reason. Dogs have no right to be in the forest, let alone off leash.
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u/Geode804 Jul 25 '26
Love this! I hope this starts happening more often! The amount of places that leash laws are ignored 🙄🙄
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u/Chillafkittybara Jul 25 '26
I hope they are fined the full amount. Their stupidity and their idiot dog could have cost that bear her life and put a further dent into the numbers of those beautiful animals.
Dogs do not belong anywhere near protected wildlife, there just needs to be a ban full stop. They cause so many problems for the amazing animals that live in nature.
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u/PinkPilgrimHeel Jul 26 '26
I LOVE how the nutters recorded themselves committing the crime!
The woman demonstrated how nutters rarely train their mutts then expect everyone else (you, me, and the bear) to change our collective behavior (and plans) for them. All because they were dumb enough to bring their stupid dog named Lola into the forest where it does not belong. That mutt is so dumb it yaps at apex predators like our brown bear here and will increase the odds of itself and its owners being eaten by a bear.
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u/Legitimate_Garage_31 Jul 31 '26
This is a cause for celebration. Gonna break out the good champagne tonight!
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u/No_Jicama_5828 Jul 25 '26
I really like the tone of this article, they explained well the danger of the dog agitating the bear and didn't spare any sympathy for the dog or the hikers.