Puppy mill - 91 dogs surrendered
Woodlands, MB (CA)

Incident Date: Friday, Jun 27, 2008

Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Ernie Boklaschuk

A Woodlands breeder accused of neglect after surrendering more than 90 dogs will not be charged, according to the province's chief veterinary officer.

"We've concluded our investigation, and we reviewed the information with the crown prosecutor," said Wayne Lees. "I'm not aware that there's enough evidence that would justify any charges."

An estimated 91 cocker spaniels and beagles - including puppies, grown dogs and pregnant mothers - were collected from dog breeder Ernie Boklaschuk, who voluntarily surrendered them after a provincial inspection.

Boklaschuk, who declined to comment Friday, previously cited a two-year illness as the reason he wasn't able to keep up with the dogs' care.

Kim Kaufmann, whose Diamond Edge Dog Salon took in 35 cocker spaniels, said many of the dogs had badly matted fur and skin problems, while some had open sores, vision problems and tumours.

"I am absolutely disgusted that this man isn't being charged," she said. "This man should be in jail."

Other dogs, including the 39 taken by the Winnipeg Humane Society and 15 at D'Arcy's Animal Rescue Centre, were mostly in good shape, staff said.

The province has not released details on the case, citing confidentiality concerns. However, Boklaschuk previously said he turned the dogs over voluntarily. He said he'd been breeding dogs for two decades, and wasn't aware of the health problems reported by Kaufmann.

A woman who answered the phone at the Boklaschuk home Friday said the household was considering legal action, and declined to comment further.

"Nobody's printing the truth, and we're not going to waste our time," said the woman, who did not give her name.

At least one past customer spoke in Boklaschuk's defense: Kelly Copp described him as a responsible breeder who placed his dogs in good homes.

Lees cautioned that each situation needs to be assessed on its own merits: he said in his years as a vet he's seen many dogs with matted fur, sores or lumps, some of which are due to aging.

Lees said Manitoba's Animal Care Act deals with conditions that over time "significantly impair animals' health or well-being." Charges are rare and most investigations are solved with corrective measures, which means working with owners to improve animal welfare, he said.

"Very few of the cases that we investigate do we find any deliberate neglect, or deliberate abuse," he said. "When we find those cases, we turn those over to the crown prosecutor, (and) they decide whether to proceed with charges."

In 2007 the province investigated 391 complaints of animal cruelty. Charges were laid in nine cases, and 165 were dismissed. Another 108 cases were handled with corrective measures.

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