Two puppies starved to death
Windsor, ON (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
Disposition: Alleged
Abuser names unreleased
The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society is contemplating charges against the owners of two puppies found dead - starved, with wood fragments in their stomachs - in a Tuscarora Street home Wednesday.
The society's executive director John Roushorne said the cause of the puppies' deaths was obvious.
"There is no question it was a result of neglect," he said. "We did a full necropsy (post-mortem examination) on them this morning (Thursday) and their stomachs not only had no food in them, they were full of things like wood they tried to chew to get some nourishment."
Several dogs were also seized from the home after the humane society received a complaint.
"We are in the process of determining what, if any, charges, we are going to lay," Roushorne said Thursday.
"Part of the issue right now is whether we opt for criminal charges or whether we go with the Provincial Offences Act. We are still discussing that."
Roushorne declined to elaborate on the details of the seizure, including exactly how many dogs were removed from the home.
"There is a little bit of ambiguity at the moment about which ones we seized and which ones they (the owners) handed over to us," he said. "Because we've got charges pending I'm not really anxious to get into the specifics."
Police were not involved in Wednesday's seizure, he said.
Roushorne also would not say how many people may be charged with animal cruelty.
"It could prejudice what we decide to do later," he said. The society may be able to provide more information about the case today, once a decision is made about the charges, he added.
In Ontario, punishments for those convicted of animal cruelty range from fines and bans on pet ownership to jail time.
In June 2007, the former owner of A.K., the puppy found with his ears cut off on a Sandwich Street balcony, was charged with seven animal cruelty counts under the Criminal Code.
It is alleged Rony Salman cut off A.K.'s ears to make him look more menacing. A.K., who was later adopted by a young Windsor couple and renamed Kasen, became the poster dog for the issue of animal cruelty nation-wide. His mutilation prompted calls for tougher animal protection laws in the province.
Salman is facing trial Sept. 8. References
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