False complaint about dog nearly forces family off campground near Nelson

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NELSON (NEWS 1130) — A B.C. woman says she was nearly kicked out of a campground near Nelson, over what turned out to be a false complaint.

Carmen Neufeld says a patrolman knocked on her trailer door around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday and said someone had complained about her dog, called it a nuisance, and said the animal would have to leave the Kokanee Creek Provincial Park site within the hour.

“I informed him that I had no transportation because my husband was gone. I had no internet. I didn’t know anybody, so then he informed me that if I could not get rid of the dog, then all of us would be removed from the property,” she explains to NEWS 1130.

After speaking to a park manager, who she says was also unsympathetic, and promising to keep the dog in a trailer, they were eventually allowed to stay the night.

The next morning, two managers came back to the trailer but this time, to offer an apology saying a man at the site had fabricated the entire complaint.

“The dog barked at him, and he didn’t like it, felt intimidated and went around and requested that other people make a complaint.”

Neufeld adds the dog accidentally went off-leash while her daughter was walking their dog. When the family pet ran up to the man he apparently kicked the dog and yelled.

Neufeld says a park manager apologized profusely and even offered a refund, and some other freebies if they decided to stay.

The family decided to leave the site and Neufeld now says she wants an apology from two male workers who she says treated her poorly.

Neufeld says based on her experience, she is calling the campsite to change their policy regarding complaints.

“The way that the system works is that anyone can make a complaint. There is no opportunity for that person to be asked about the complaint about clarification at all. Which I think is really a big flaw in the system because it allows for nefarious and you know vexatious complaints,” she says.

NEWS 1130 has reached out to the campground for comment.

– With files from Lasia Kretzel

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