Holyrood pit bull owner fails to show

By Mark Squibb
November 10, 2023 Edition

A provincial court judge has issued a warrant of arrest for a Holyrood man charged with allowing his dogs to roam and pose a potential threat to others after the man missed two scheduled court appearances this week.

Ronald Dwyer of Holyrood, who in September was accused of allowing pit bulls to roam the Woodford’s Station area of Holyrood attacking neighbours’ pets, was scheduled to appear before the judge Wednesday morning regarding the charges.

Dwyer did not show up for court, despite being paged by court staff. It was his second day this week missing court.

Crown Attorney Mike Murray, who expressed doubt that Dwyer would appear, explained to Judge Harold Porter that the case had become complicated.

“Mr. Dwyer owns a number of pit bulls that are causing distress in his neighbourhood in Holyrood,” said Murray.

He then explained that Dwyer had been previously scheduled to appear before Judge Jaqueline Brazil Monday morning for a hearing on whether the dogs would be destroyed or not.

That hearing did not go ahead.

“Judge Brazil asked the police to refile the application because it wasn’t done properly,” said Murray.

Dwyer did not appear in court on Monday either. Judge Brazil at the time noted that she was concerned that Dwyer did not show up. Dwyer was paged during Monday’s session, but did not appear.

It was then Judge Brazil requested the proper paperwork in order for the matter to proceed.

After a short recess on Wednesday, court reconvened and Murray asked for a warrant to arrest Dwyer as he had not appeared for either court date. He is facing four charges related to his dogs allegedly killing other pets in Holyrood.