A Vancouver high school teacher has been suspended after his pup fetish identity and a messaging channel where he shares pornographic content were discovered online, raising questions about where the line lies between teachers’ personal lives and professional expectations.
“I’m not doing anything illegal, I’m not doing anything that is hurting anyone, or that interferes with my job — the issue is their stigma, their bias,” said Daniel Gore.
For the past six years, Gore has taught woodworking at Sir Charles Tupper Secondary. Outside the classroom, he has been active in the adult LGBTQ2+ community, organizing events and participating in Vancouver’s annual Pride Parade.
For the past two years, the 40-year-old has marched in pup fetish gear — including a dog-style mask — at the head of a group, often within sight of the Vancouver school district’s official float.
“I felt if they knew it was me, I’d be fired,” Gore told Postmedia News on Thursday.
That fear, it seems, was not unfounded.
Last week, Gore says he was contacted by a human resources official at the school and later by his union, confirming his suspension from teaching duties. He is banned from the school grounds.
The action followed an internal review triggered by complaints related to his personal life and his online presence as “Tank The Pup” on social media.
Gore said the issue appears to have begun after a student in his class saw the name ‘Tank’ on his computer screen and later found public pornographic content linked to that identity.
School district spokesperson Jiana Chow said she is limited in what she can say due to privacy laws, but said that if an internal review is underway, “employees may be removed from the school environment as a cautionary measure. These actions are not confirmations of wrongdoing but reflect our commitment to ensuring a safe and respectful learning environment for students and staff.”
In his Instagram posts, Gore presents a distinctive look, wearing a dog-style mask that conceals his face, along with a collar, harnesses and minimal clothing such as jockstraps. Several of the photos show him crouching or bending like a dog.
Gore also shares pornographic videos of himself through a Telegram channel called “Playtime with Tank,” which he describes on the messaging app as “like OnlyFans, but free.”
“From what I’ve been told by the union, the main issue is that there is sexual content featuring me online that students could potentially access,” he told Postmedia. “If they ask me to take down the (pornographic) part of my content, I’m willing to do so — because honestly, that’s not the part of my life that matters most to me.”
Despite his willingness to comply, Gore says he plans to leave teaching regardless of the suspension’s outcome.
“I’m looking forward to no longer having to pretend to be someone else for eight hours a day.”
The B.C. Teachers’ Federation did not respond to Postmedia’s request for comment.
In Vancouver’s pup community, participants often engage in a consensual form of role-play or fetish, adopting the persona of a dog or puppy. This can involve behaviours like barking, crawling, and wearing gear such as collars, masks, or harnesses, while taking on playful or submissive roles. For many, puppy play is a form of personal expression and identity that blends elements of performance, community and self-exploration.
“I am proud of how I look, I am proud of my style and my expression as a pup. It makes me feel sexy, beautiful and empowered,” said Gore.
On Thursday, the teacher retrieved his belongings from the union’s office.
“It looks like I’ll never be back on that school property again,” he said. “It feels like I am being treated like a pedophile or a sexual predator.”
Gore says he has long struggled with feeling that he must hide his pup identity from the public simply because he works as a high school teacher.
“The idea that teachers should fit into a homogeneous role model is really problematic. It goes against the principles of diversity and allows those in power to dictate, ‘this is the only persona we find acceptable to teach.’”
A spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Education and Child Care said in an email Wednesday that the ministry would not comment on cases under investigation.
“The ministry takes concerns regarding student safety and well-being very seriously. Complaints and reports about teacher misconduct are reviewed by the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation and thoroughly investigated,” they said.
“In cases where allegations suggest that there is a risk of harm to students, the commissioner can request an undertaking not to practice pending an investigation or issue an interim suspension of a teaching certificate under the Teachers Act.”
The situation echoes another dispute in the Lower Mainland, where Coquitlam educational assistant Kristin MacDonald was fired in June 2023 after the school district demanded she shut down her OnlyFans and social media accounts. MacDonald, a single mother, says she turned to sex work to make ends meet on a part-time salary of under $50,000.
Labour expert Supriya Routh of the University of B.C. previously said that while off-duty conduct is generally private, employers can lawfully restrict employees’ social media activity if they can demonstrate reputational harm.
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