Businessman offers $500 to replace boy's slain dog

Lately, we've been finding horror stories from all over Canada. Yesterday, it was British Columbia and Ontario, today it's Nova Scotia and Alberta.

From the Edmonton Sun:

PUPPY DUMPING DENIED

PINCHER CREEK -- A 42-year-old Alberta woman charged after five puppies were thrown down an outhouse and left to die last winter has pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty charges.

Samantha Rieberger of Crowsnest Pass faces a trial in Pincher Creek provincial court Feb. 9.

A co-accused, Frederick Hoath, has already gone to trial, and a judge is to hand down a verdict Sept. 29.

The two were charged last January after RCMP were called to an outhouse along Highway 3 near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary.

A motorist who had stopped to use the outhouse heard whining coming from inside.
The eight-week-old Lab-cross pups were rescued after a lengthy operation that saw the outhouse taken apart, and all five of them were given a clean bill of health and adopted out.

TORCHED CAT DIES

HALIFAX -- RCMP say a Halifax-area man awoke to a disturbing scene on his front lawn early Monday.

They said the man was roused by a bright flash outside his Lower Sackville, N.S., home and noticed that something was on fire.

The man went outside and soon realized that a cat had been set ablaze.

Police said he covered the cat to smother the flames and then notified police and municipal animal control.

The cat did not survive.

The above two stories are just so maddening. Don't you wish that these sick people could be given reciprocal punishment? People like these are Jeffrey Dahmers in the making. Stop them now.

A final story from Canada today. A hopeful follow-up for that poor little Jack Russell puppy's family.

VICTORIA -- A Victoria businessman has donated $500 to get a B.C. boy a new puppy after the child's dog was shot by a hunter.

The Jack Russell terrier had belonged to 12-year-old Max Rose on Quadra Island, near Campbell River on Vancouver Island.

Bill Lang said when he heard the dog had been killed last weekend he wanted to do something about it and contacted the Rose family.

He said the breeder of the original dog has another similar puppy for the Quadra Island family, and the donation from Lang and his wife will cover the costs.

The puppy had replaced another dog that had helped the boy while he recovered from a brain tumour.

The hunter turned himself in to police, reportedly saying the shooting was an accident. The Crown is weighing charges in the case.

Canadians Dog Owners Face Problems, Too

In the Michael Moore "Bowling for Columbine" we are shown that in Windsor, Ontario, Canada the people feel so safe they don't feel the need to lock their doors when they leave their homes. He also states that Canadians own more firearms per capita than Americans yet only have a tiny fraction of handgun-related deaths per year. In another documentary of his, "Sicko", we are shown that Canada's system of socialized medicine is humane, efficient, and affordable. One comes away believing that perhaps the Canadian way of life may be a better way. It is deeply saddening to learn of these two stories. The first is of shocking heartlessness and cruelty. The second is of yet another case of prejudice and BSL.

From CTV in British Columbia, Canada:

B.C. family shocked after dog shot outside home

Updated Tue. Sep. 16 2008 3:36 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Police are hoping that a B.C. man, suspected of shooting a four-month-old Jack Russell puppy just metres away from its home on Quadra Island Saturday morning, will soon report to police.

"I'm hoping that he will turn himself in,'' said Cpl. Craig Peterson of Quadra Island RCMP.

Owner Nick Rose said the dog -- called Seymour -- was a gift to son Max, to mark the end of three-years of cancer treatment.

"My kids were happy and laughing like they haven't been in years. My son in particular since before he was diagnosed with cancer I hadn't heard those kind of giggles and that kid of laughter out of him."

But all that changed on Saturday morning outside the rose family's Quadra Island home.

"We had our new puppy with us, and we had a great night just the three boys, and we're staring our chores and down the road walked two hunters returning from an unsuccessful dear hunt."

Both of these hunters had shot guns. Not knowing any better, Seymour did what most puppies would do.

"He bounded out in his affable, puppy-like way wagging and simpering and practically peeing himself wanting to say hi."

But Rose knew the two men from an incident a few years earlier and he knew this was trouble.

Frantic he called Seymour back. But the puppy just followed the pair around a corner and out of sight. That's when a shot rang out.

"I ran to the end of our driveway and looked around the corner and there was our little puppy, quivering in his death-throws at the side of the road."

The hunters ran off leaving Nick and his kids in shock along with the rest of the island community. Even police are in disbelief.

"I'm like you, stunned, shocked that a senseless act like this has been carried out," said Peterson.

Police know the identity of one of the hunters and are hoping they turn themselves in to face possible charges.

"Right now we're looking at dangerous use or careless use of a firearm as well as endangering an animal, in this case killing a dog."

For Seymour's family, charges are taking a back seat to the emotional impact and senselessness of what happened.

With reports by CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart and The Canadian Press

If you click on the link to read the story from the CTV website, please read the reader comments as well. It may be of some comfort to know this story really seems to have struck a nerve, and that there is considerable outrage is being voiced.


photo from CTV.ca


This is a BSL case from a different province. From the Toronto Star in Ontario, Canada:

Dog owner challenges pit bull ban

Sep 16, 2008 08:25 AM
John Goddard
STAFF REPORTER

Pit bull regulations are too broad given that most of the dogs “make wonderful pets — are kind, gentle animals who harm no one ever,” lawyer Clayton Ruby said yesterday.

Dog owners are the problem, not the dogs, he said during a break at an Ontario Court of Appeal hearing on whether a law aimed at reducing the number of pit pull attacks should be struck down.

“It’s people who create dangerous dogs,” Ruby said on behalf of dog owner Catherine Cochrane, who is fighting regulations that went into effect three years ago.

“They want dangerous dogs,” Ruby said of some pit bull owners. “We should be attacking those people and stopping that process.”

The Ontario law bans new pit bulls from the province and orders existing ones to be sterilized, as well as leashed and muzzled in public.

Ruby, acting for Cochrane, earlier challenged the law as unconstitutional and won changes from a lower court judge. Yesterday, Ruby was further arguing before the appeal tribunal led by Justice John Laskin that the law should be struck down entirely.

For the Crown, Mike Doi listed numerous unprovoked pit bull attacks, including the 1994 Danforth Ave. mauling of 5-year-old Lauren Harper, who needed 300 stitches to her face.

“Pit bulls can attack unprovoked even when they are previously known to be friendly,” Doi said, supporting the lower court’s finding that the law should stand.

A key question on appeal is whether the law defines “pit bull” too broadly. The law specifically names Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers, then includes any other dog with traits “substantially similar” to those breeds.

The wording is unconstitutionally broad, Ruby said.

“The evidence was that there are 24 pure-bred dogs that look like these dogs — and those are just pure-breds, (not to mention) all the half-breeds and mutts,” he said during the break.

“Your dog at home will look like a pit bull in many respects.”

Crown lawyer Robert Charney argued the law responded constitutionally to “a real, serious problem of public safety.”
The hearing continues today.

'Pit bulls can attack unprovoked even when they are previously known to be friendly'. This is someone representing the Canadian government making this statement. It's sad and disappointing to see that ignorance and breed prejudice knows no boundaries.

Group Spreads Education in Honor of Abused Dog in South Dakota

When something horrible occurs, some disaster like Hurricane Katrina, the attacks on 9/11, cases of child abuse, etc., we often ask soul searching questions like, "Why does God let things like this happen?" Sometimes all we can do is try to make something good come out of the aftermath.

Last week we reported a case of unthinkable abuse and neglect of a Lab/Pit mix named Charlie. While still in pretty bad shape he is still in good spirits and his physical injuries are healing. Those who have taken charge of his care and others that have taken a personal interest in his welfare have decided to make a way for something good to come from Charlie's suffering. They have founded Children for Charlie Project. They have decided to sponsor Tiospa Zina Tribal School, Agency Village and West Side Elementary School, Sisseton, schools the area where Charlie was rescued in South Dakota.

Their goal is to raise enough money to provide a subscription to KIND News for all the students. KIND News that provides education and awareness of the need to be kind to animals. The donation will be made in Charlie's name. They will need to raise $771 to reach their goal. So far the response has been good, but there is still a long way to go.

If you did not get a chance to read the article from the link in the Sept. 10 story here is an excerpt from the story run in "In the Shelter of Your Heart":

When found, Charlie was battered and the extent of the damage to his body was not known. In the dark of night, Charlie was carried in to a warm house, and safe bed for the first time in his life. After just a few hours rest he was then transported to a vet for treatment. Immediately visible was that basically his scalp was peeled back, from his eye to behind his ear, along with other head injuries. Lacerations all over his body, signs of being beaten, and not just with a newspaper. He had broken teeth, and a broken elbow. While treating this poor animal the vet discovered two things, the first being that the injuries had happened up to 7 days prior, or over the course of several days. The second was that beyond surviving cutting and beating, the bullet lodged in him revealed he'd been shot as well.

I'll give you a minute to absorb all that, before I lay the most shocking fact on you.

This dog, living nothing but a meager existence, rewarded for his troubles with near death, has been described by one of his care takers as "One of the BEST dogs I've known". Sweet, gentle, loving. Through out all that, the most shocking fact, is that he is still willing to give a human the benefit of the doubt.

photo courtesy of http://shelteroftheheart.blogspot.com/

Cats Abused As Well

Although cats have traditionally been the mortal enemy of Man's Best Friend many dog owners know differently. In fact, many dog owners have cats as well. This story should not go unnoticed.

From The Ledger in Lakeland, FL:

Driver Is Cleared of Throwing Kittens

By Jason Geary
THE LEDGER

Published: Friday, September 12, 2008 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 12:40 a.m.

BARTOW | Prosecutors will not charge a 67-year-old Lakeland man with throwing three kittens from a moving truck, concluding there is "insufficient proof" to support a charge of cruelty to animals.

Sean Reynolds and Denise Pribe were critical witnesses who said they saw cats being thrown from the truck window.

Only July 23, the pair were driving on Rockridge Road when they saw a black kitten get run over by a white pickup and another white kitten run away, according to Sheriff's Office reports.

Reynolds said he was about two car lengths away from the truck and saw a third kitten "come from high up on the vehicle … probably out the window."

Abuse of this kind should never be tolerated regardless of what kind of animal it is.

From maliciously kind of cruel to the heartless variety of cruel from the Tri-Cities Herald in Tri-Cities, WA:

Animal Control looking for 2 who dumped dogs
By the Herald staff

Tri-City Animal Control is seeking information about two people who dumped off five dogs at the animal shelter.

A surveillance video captured images of two people -- a teenage boy and a woman who appeared to be in her late 30s or early 40s -- dropping off the animals between 7:20 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

The video showed them backing their car up to the shelter and unloading the dogs from the hatchback.

The people carried some of the dogs in crates and put all of the dogs into the shelter's fenced yard.

"No remorse. They don't look back," Poundmaster Angela Zilar said, describing the people. "The dogs in the video are at the gate going, 'What are you doing? Why are we being left?' "

The dogs are Chihuahua and Chihuahua mixes, including one that's pregnant.

Whoever dropped off the dogs could face charges of abandoning an animal, a gross misdemeanor, Zilar said.

To see still frames from the video, visit www.tricityherald.com/galleries.

Anyone with information about the people or the dogs can call Tri-City Animal Control at 545-3740.

Man That Kicked Chihuahua to Death Set Free

This is just sickening. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A man has pleaded no contest to charges that he kicked his girlfriend's Chihuahua to death after it soiled their bed in Redwood City.

Ariel Aspedilla, 26, of Manteca entered his no-contest plea to a felony animal cruelty charge on Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court. Judge Clifford Cretan sentenced him to nine months in jail and allowed Aspedilla to be released because of credit for time served.

Aspedilla was arrested March 13 after Chiquita, a 4-year-old female, died at an animal hospital, prosecutors said.

Aspedilla spent the night of March 6 with his girlfriend at her apartment and awoke to find that Chiquita had defecated and urinated on the bed, prosecutors said. Enraged, he kicked the dog four or five times, said Steve Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney.

Chiquita suffered five broken ribs, punctured lungs and a damaged liver and lost a significant amount of blood, authorities said. Aspedilla and his girlfriend brought the dog to Sequoia Veterinary Hospital in Redwood City, where a doctor tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate it, said Eva Fillyaw, a manager at the clinic.

Aspedilla was consoling his weeping girlfriend and appeared eager to accept the doctor's initial diagnosis that Chiquita might have an immune-system problem that was causing blood loss, Fillyaw said.

But a necropsy revealed the broken ribs as well as previous signs of abuse, Fillyaw said.

Charlie Needs Help

This is the aftermath of a severely beaten dog named Charlie. Please read his story.

"Free to a Good Home" Red Flag

Those faced with having to give up their pets find themselves not wanting to turn them over to a shelter. Fearing that no one will find the pet adoptable they resort to placing an ad stating "free to a good home". This often leaves them as a target.

From PetRescue.com:

Most people have good intentions when they advertise a cat or dog as "Free To Good Home". They care what happens to the animal and are not interested in making money. All they want to do is find a nice family that is willing to give the pet a loving, responsible home.

The tragedy occurs when the animal is mistakenly put into a situation where it is neglected, abandoned, abused, or even sold for lab experimentation. Sadly, this sort of thing happens thousands of times each day across America.

Giving any pet away is misguided. People tend not to value what they don't pay for. If you charge a nominal fee of $35-$45 or more for an animal, the new owner is more likely to take their commitment to the pet seriously. A free pet is a disposable pet!

Paying a fee for a pet shows good faith on the part of the new owner and demonstrates their willingness to properly care for the animal. The truth is, there is no such thing as a "free" pet anyway. By the time a cat or dog is checked out by a vet, including shots, worming, health testing, and spay/neuter, a "free" pet will easily cost in excess of $100, and that's just for starters. A responsible person who would properly take care of an animal will understand this and will not be opposed to paying a reasonable fee for a healthy pet, especially if some or all of these health items have already been taken care of.

Pet-Abuse.com adds:

A recent study at one animal shelter yielded the startling statistic that 41% of all owner-surrendered dogs had been obtained "Free to good home."

This is how some people see your "free" loved one:

Free snake food. Free animal for malicious pranks. Free animal to set on fire or insert a firecracker into. Free to breed indiscriminately. Free animal to hoard and neglect. What Is A "Buncher?" A buncher either steals or "adopts" companion animals for the purpose of selling the animal. Bunchers can sell animals for one or more of the following reasons: To be used in research labs To be used as bait to train dogs in fighting rings or hunting dogs To be used as breeding stock in puppy or kitten mills "Bunchers" can be very deceptive and they prey on people who place "free to good home" ads. They will sometimes use children as part of the ploy and present themselves as a "perfect" family. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

PBRC.com offers some excellent advice on what to do:

Interviewing Callers
"First come, first served" does not apply here. You are under no obligation to give your dog to the first person who says he wants him or her. You have every right to ask questions and choose the person you think will make the best new owner. Don't let anyone rush you or intimidate you.