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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #15338 Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Two dogs found starving, riddled with parasites
Windsor, ON (CA)Incident Date: Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Orville Kevin Harris
Case Updates: 2 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 UpdatesThe Windsor man accused of starving his two pet redbone coonhounds to the brink of death was found guilty Friday of failing to comply with prescribed standards of care.
Orville Kevin Harris has been ordered to pay $3,163 in restitution to the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society as well as a $1,000 court fine. Harris will be on probation for two years and will have a lifelong prohibition from owning or living with any animal.
The two dogs were seized from Harris’s Montcalm Street home in March after the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received an anonymous tip that the hounds were being kept in the backyard during the winter. Agents arrived at the house to find the dogs, named Stealth and Hooch, severely emaciated, dehydrated and riddled with parasites and fleas.
The court heard that Harris was facing personal challenges during the time he neglected Stealth and Hooch. A law student representing the defendant said Harris had recently been let go from his job as a water technician, was in the midst of a divorce and a custody battle and was mired in separate legal proceedings at the time.
“It pushed Mr. Harris almost to the emotional edge,” said law student Jeff LaPorte. “It fogged his judgment.”
Justice of the peace Susan Hoffman acknowledged those circumstances in her sentence. “I understand that your emotional well-being was affected … such that you were unable to care for the dogs. But clearly the court has to send a message that the behaviour … cannot be tolerated.” | Source: Windsor Star - Sept 18, 2009
Update posted on Sep 20, 2009 - 7:35PM |
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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