Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Remi Allard | | Defense(s): | Maurice Bastarache |
Dog neglected
Moncton, NB (CA)Incident Date: Monday, Jul 16, 2007
Disposition: Dismissed
Persons of Interest:
» Laurie Bourque
» Dawn Smith
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Salisbury couple is disputing the Moncton Crown's allegations about the degree to which they neglected their dog.
Laurie Bourque and Dawn Smith appeared in Moncton provincial court yesterday to have an arrest warrant vacated. They failed to show up in court in February despite receiving a summons from an SPCA animal protection officer, so the judge issued a warrant for their arrest.
Bourque and Smith came to court yesterday and pleaded guilty to a count of violating New Brunswick's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
They were charged with failing to provide proper food, water, shelter and medical attention to a seven-year-old Irish setter named Tyler.
After the guilty pleas, the matter proceeded to sentencing, with prosecutor Remi Allard describing the miserable conditions the dog was kept in and the health problems it was suffering from. But before Judge Irwin Lampert could sentence the couple, they disagreed with the details related to the court.
Bourque said all this information about his dog's condition was new to him and he hadn't sought any disclosure on the file. He said the most he'd heard is that the dog had ear mites.
"Some of the facts in (the prosecutor's) reading were quite exaggerated," he complained to the judge.
Smith told Lampert they had left someone in charge of the dog and she also added that she worked at the SPCA for 10 years.
Before they could say anything more, Lampert scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 10 and said both sides could call evidence on the facts of the case at that time.
The case dates back to July 16 of last year and likely would never have come to light if not for the concern of a 16-year-old girl who was asked to look after Tyler while his owners were out of town.
According to the prosecutor's submission to the court, the girl was a neighbour who was asked to stop by a couple of times a day for 10 days to let the dog out and feed it. What she found was appalling.
The dog was in its crate in a dark, windowless laundry room. The crate was filthy, the stench unbearable and the dog crying miserably.
"By Tyler's crying, she thought he was actually dying," said Allard.
The dog had vomited in his crate and also had diarrhea.
There were bugs in the crate and tufts of fur on the jagged edges.
The girl took the dog and brought it home to show her parents.
"The smell coming from the dog was so rancid the parents told her to take the dog to outside and to the vet," said the Crown.
The vet found the dog was in bad condition. Its fur coat was unkempt, greasy and scaly, its eyes were watery, it's tail was covered in lumps and balding at the end. The dog's fur was badly matted and its ears were infected.
It was initially presumed the dog had arthritis because it had trouble walking, but it was later determined its "thumb" nails had grown so long they were digging into the pads of its feet.
According to the vet, the dog was "in a state of neglect."
"Tyler would have experienced this discomfort for months or years," Allard told the judge.
The girl gave the dog five baths over a three- to four-day period in an attempt to get all the feces off the animal's paws and fur and get rid of the smell.
She found chicken pox-like scabs all over the animal's stomach.
Neither defendant has a previous record and the fine for such an offence committed at that time starts at $168.
"The fine is rather ridiculous," said Allard. "It's no deterrent."
"I agree," said Lampert.
The Crown is also seeking a lengthy prohibition that will keep Smith and Bourque from owning or caring for animals for a long time.
The couple is no longer in possession of the dog.
Case UpdatesCharges of animal neglect laid against a Salisbury couple were withdrawn by the Moncton Crown yesterday.
Laurie Bourque and Dawn Smith appeared in Moncton provincial court for their scheduled trial, represented by defence lawyer Maurice Bastarache, but prosecutor Remi Allard withdrew the charges. They had been charged with failing to provide proper food, water, shelter and medical attention to a seven-year-old Irish setter named Tyler.
The case appeared in court in April and both accused pleaded guilty to the charge.
But when Allard gave the details of the case to Judge Irwin Lampert as part of the sentencing hearing, both Smith and Bourque claimed he was exaggerating what happened.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled and the couple eventually hired a lawyer. They later had their guilty pleas reversed and the matter was scheduled for trial.
The Crown withdrew the charges because it could not proceed with the trial, one of the reasons being the unavailability of a witness who was supposed to provide expert testimony.
During the aborted sentencing hearing in April, the court heard a 16-year-old girl had been asked to watch Tyler while the owners were out of town in the summer of 2007. The girl found the dog was kept in a crate in a dark room in appalling conditions and needed medical treatment. The dog was taken for help and the charge was later laid under the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Smith told Lampert during the hearing that someone else had been left in charge of the dog at the time the animal was found in distress. | Source: Times & Transcript - Oct 31, 2008
Update posted on Nov 2, 2008 - 9:11PM |
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