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Case ID: 15338

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Two dogs found starving, riddled with parasites
Windsor, ON (CA)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged: Orville Kevin Harris

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Animal rescue agents seized two "skeletal" dogs in a neglect case that left most veteran officers horrified.

Melanie Coulter, the humane society's executive director said the dogs were starving and riddled with parasites.

An agent with the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rescued the dogs on Tuesday after receiving an anonymous tip that the dogs were being kept outside of a Windsor home.

The agent arrived to find two redbone coonhounds, approximately three years of age, named Stealth and Hooch, locked out in the cold with no shelter.

"Both of them are still in very serious condition," Coulter said Thursday. "Our vet noted that they are the most emaciated dogs that she's seen that had still survived. Usually, by the time they get to this point, it's too late. They were disturbingly emaciated. They looked skeletal."

Coulter said the shelter is required by law to give the owners a period of time to reclaim the dogs if they pay for medical expenses.

Under the new provincial Animal Welfare Act, however, she said the OSPCA can seek an order to retain custody of the animals if it lays charges against the owners. Charges are pending, said Coulter.

Coulter said that charging the owners with cruelty and neglect under the Criminal Code is one possibility.

The maximum penalties for that includes two years in jail, a $60,000 fine and a lifetime ban on animal ownership, Coulter said.

Case Updates

A Windsor man charged with three counts of animal abuse in relation to two redbone coonhounds seized by humane society workers is fighting to get the dogs back.

Orville Kevin Harris, 44, appeared in provincial offences court Monday to challenge an application brought by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The OSPCA wants the local humane society to keep custody of the two male dogs until after court proceedings are complete.

Harris told justice of the peace Angela Renaud he wants to be heard on the matter. She said she is not sure he has any right to speak on the matter under the new Animal Welfare Act.

She adjourned the matter for one week when another justice of the peace more familiar with the case can deal with it.

On March 10, an agent with the OSPCA seized two male dogs being kept outside a Windsor home. The dogs were so emaciated that humane society workers likened them to survivors of concentration camps. Veterinary exams showed the dogs were full of parasites, one having a potentially fatal case of heartworm.

Harris is facing charges of causing distress to an animal, permitting distress and failing to comply with a standard of care for animals.

Nancy McCabe, manager of field operations for the local humane society and an agent with the OSPCA, said Monday the dogs are showing great improvement. Hooch has put on 17 pounds in less than six weeks and Stealth has put on 20 pounds. They've both been cleared of some parasites, but Stealth is still being treated for heartworm.

McCabe said nursing the dogs back to health has made her more resolute about the dogs not being returned to the owner. "I'm definitely going to ask or a lifetime ban if I get a conviction."

If convicted, Harris also faces a maximum fine of $60,000.

Source: Windsor Star - April 20, 2009
Update posted on Apr 20, 2009 - 7:11PM

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Two dogs found starving, riddled with parasitesWindsor, ON (CA)

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Two dogs found starving, riddled with parasites
Windsor, ON (CA)