Online comments by a man calling himself Bob Fawcett allege that the B.C. tour company manager was ordered to take "drastic action" and kill dozens of healthy sled dogs in a two-day period.
In a Jan. 6 post on a forum about post-traumatic stress disorder, a man posting as "Bob Fawcett" says that the dogsled company he owned for 15 years was purchased by a large corporation two years ago. The new owners, according to the post, said they were in danger of going out of business.
"I was told the company was going to fold unless we took drastic action. The drastic action would be the immediate disposal of half the herd. There is no more money and the owners would only continue on if we did the reduction and went with a new business model, less dogs, less costs," the commenter alleges, adding that the company had about 330 dogs at the time.
"I was told I had two days to get the job done due to a large tour group we had coming and we couldn't afford more time."
A man named Bob Fawcett is the former general manager of Howling Dog Tours, a Whistler tour company connected to the gruesome slaying of 100 healthy sled dogs in April 2010.
Howling Dog Tours is now owned by Joey Houssian's company Outdoor Adventures Whistler, which says it has had a financial stake in the dogsled company for four years.
Outdoor Adventures Whistler has denied any knowledge of the mass slaughter. In a press release on Tuesday, the company said it was "shocked and appalled" to learn of the grisly details revealed this week.
"Contrary to media reports, OAW did not instruct the employee to euthanize the dogs in the manner described in the report," the company said.
Outdoor Adventures Whistler has not responded to requests for comment on the internet postings by "Bob Fawcett."
‘I was forced to kill'
In a WorkSafe BC decision granting compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder developed as a result of the slaughter, the worker is said to have been "tasked to cull the employer's herd by approximately 100 dogs."
But the online allegations from "Bob Fawcett" go much further.
In another forum about post-traumatic stress disorder, someone commenting under the same name alleges in a Dec. 27 post: "I was forced to kill and it has pretty much destroyed my soul."
He goes on to allege that he was used as a sort of puppet: "I have done the worst of the worst for the wrong people. I have been used to do things normal humans cannot even think of."
In one forum thread, the commenter goes on to describe in grisly detail what happened on the day of the slaughter.
"I then set about the direct execution of 60 of my friends on day 1. Some I missed, had to chase around with blood everywhere, some I had to slit their throats because it was the only way to keep them calm in my arms.
"I had one still alive in a pit I dug for a mass burial. I carried them all one by one so as to at least give them some kind of respect. Day 2 was no different."
The commenter calls the dogs his "friends," and says "they were my life."
The description of the slaughter closely matches that of the WorkSafe BC decision, in which the worker says he had to chase after dogs missing parts of their heads after they were shot in the face.
Fawcett has not responded to numerous requests for comment from CTV News. The B.C. SPCA has confirmed that it will be speaking with him as part of its investigation into the mass killing, which could end in criminal charges.
The U.S.-based group Mush with Pride, an association that encourages responsible sled dog care and sets voluntary guidelines for the industry, says that it removed Fawcett from its board of directors on Wednesday.
Fawcett had been the group's vice president. President Karen Ramstead says she told Fawcett about his removal by email, and he responded that he understood.
She says Mush with Pride isn't assigning blame or guilt, but felt having him remain on the board would bring unwanted attention to the group and hamper its mission.
With files from The Canadian Press
