DATES OF REMOVAL OF DOGS
Topaz Creek: Between July 2, 2002 and July 28, 2002. Dogs were rescued
and removed as foster space became available by a small rescue organization, Creston PAWS.
Beaverdell: July 3, 2002. Seized by the Kelowna SPCA.
LENGTH OF TIME THE SPCA KNEW OF THE DOGS
Topaz Creek: a minimum of three years.
Beaverdell: Ten years that the SPCA admits to; Gaston Lapointe had been
breeding dogs in Beaverdell for 12 years, according to media reports. (Lapointe had been
on the AAS web page for over a year before the Kelowna SPCA acted :
Animal Advocates Society of BC | Puppymill
Investigations
)
NUMBER OF DOGS RESCUED OR IMPOUNDED
Topaz Creek: 56
Beaverdell: 46 (47 adult dogs were seized: one was returned to
Lapointe: a number of (sellable) pups were also seized)
NUMBER OF DOGS EUTHANIZED
Topaz Creek: 2
Beaverdell: 34 (to date to the best of our knowledge: SPCA figures are
confusing)
BREED OF DOGS
Both cases mainly husky type crosses.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE
Topaz Creek: little to none, from day to day
Beaverdell: BC SPCA: $20 million a year
LIVING CONDITIONS IN WHICH DOGS WERE KEPT
Topaz Creek: Some of the dogs were chained to trees, others were chained
to objects, out in the open, without adequate food and water, with numerous diseases and
untreated wounds. Some of these dogs were suffering under the PCA Act definition of
"critical distress" which permits immediate seizure.
Beaverdell: Dogs were not tied directly to trees, but rather tied by
chains to 10 metre nylon ropes strung between trees, allowing them some degree of
unfettered movement. The dogs had wooden doghouses and some buildings, as shown in the
pictures on Lapointe's website
hubcap.bc.ca/dog_breeding.html
. None of the dogs were suffering "critical distress" and may not have been
suffering even "simple distress".
PHYSICAL CONDITION OF DOGS WHEN REMOVED
Topaz Creek: Eleven of the Topaz Creek dogs had wounds on their bodies,
from lick granulomas to severe open and abscessed bite wounds. Many wounds were infested
with maggots. One dog had a chain embedded into the skin of his neck. One dog was
malformed, suffering from an exposed penis shaft and deformed testicles, resulting in
numerous urinary tract fissures and lesions as well as a severe and chronic bladder
infection. One dog's leg wound was so severe and longstanding that infection had spread to
the bone. Many dogs had scars. One dog was covered in an oily substance, which Mr. Meyer
claimed was motor oil. All dogs appeared to have tick wounds on their ears and necks. All
dogs had hair missing from around their necks from chains rubbing the skin. (Photos and
report of Topaz Creek dogs injuries given to the SPCA:
animaladvocates.com/TopazCreekDogs.htm )
Beaverdell: According to SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk the dogs were
seized due to "suffering from neglect and illness without necessary food, water, and
housing". SPCA staff had reported to the media that "some of the dogs looked
thin and malnourished". The dogs were treated for Giardia, a common and
easily-treated intestinal protozoa. None of the dogs look unhealthy, no diseases,
infections or injuries were ever described by the SPCA. (pictures of Beaverdell dogs can
be seen at Lapointe's web site
hubcap.bc.ca/dog_breeding.html
and at
animaladvocates.com/beaverdell-photos.htm
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION OF DOGS WHEN REMOVED
Topaz Creek: The dog "Raven" with the wound that was exposed to
the bone was completely unapproachable for treatment due to extreme pain and fear. (animaladvocates.com/TopazCreekDogs.htm
) According to Creston PAWS' report, "all the dogs displayed varying degrees of fear
aggression or terror." Again, according to Creston PAWS' report, "During the
month that it took to remove all dogs from Meyer's property intensive psychological
rehabilitation was begun. Every day until we were able to bring the last dog down, we
spent time with each dog as we fed and watered it, talking, petting, treating wounds, and
some grooming, to help them overcome their terrors and learn to trust."
Beaverdell: At the time of their seizure Kelowna SPCA investigator Brad
Kuish was quoted as saying "They've had no socialization with people. It will take
them time to adjust." After four months of living in cells at the Kelowna SPCA,
spokesperson Lorie Chortyk says of the Beaverdell dogs: "Because some have been
tethered, they're terrified of doorways and floors. All they know is the confined
environment of the tether. We can't just send these animals to a family. It could lead to
aggressive behaviour. If some of the dogs show signs of severe psychological problems, the
SPCA will euthanize them as a last resort." But numerous volunteers were
allowed to walk the dogs in public and reported that the dogs were friendly and
well-socialized. (See volunteers statements:
animaladvocates.com/beaverdell-volunteers/htm
VETERINARIAN ATTENTION
Topaz Creek: All dogs' conditions received immediate medical attention.
All wounds were treated, all were treated for parasites, all dogs were spayed and neutered
and vaccinated.
Beaverdell: The dogs were treated for Giardia, a common intestinal
parasite. All were reportedly dewormed and vaccinated. None were spayed or neutered, some
became impregnated and had litters of puppies while at the Kelowna SPCA. Some of the
mother dogs were euthanized also.
METHODS OF EUTHANASIA
Topaz Creek: Humane and painless intravenous injection administered by a
vet.
Beaverdell: SPCA has not said, but it appears that at least some of the
dogs were euthanized using cardiac puncture administered by SPCA staff. Cardiac puncture
is the injection of Euthanyl by large needle through the ribs and abdominal muscle and
into the heart. Independent veterinary opinion says it is very painful and terrifying -
even if the heart is not missed. If the heart is missed, it can result in the Euthanyl
flooding the abdominal cavity or lungs and slow, agonizing death. Independent veterinary
opinion is that this method is sometimes used on dogs if the administrators are not
trained or proficient in finding veins for intravenous injection. The BC VMA does not
approve it as a method of euthanasia for dogs. SPCA admits that shelter staff euthanized
the dogs, not a veterinarian.
FATE OF DOGS DECIDED BY
Topaz Creek: Creston PAWS Society and numerous individual rescuers,
foster homes, and small, independent organizations, all of them with much personal
experience with dogs, especially dogs in need of socialization.
Beaverdell: The BC SPCA: from the Kelowna SPCA Manager to the Regional
Manager to the BC SPCA Head Office to the BC SPCA Board of Directors. Head Office would
decide the ultimate disposition of the Beaverdell dogs, including sending the BC SPCA's
"assessment" team to assess the dogs and to pronounce them aggressive and not
rehabilitatable. The assessment team members may have more university degrees than
personal knowledge of dog behaviour. Hired "experts" in every field are
frequently used to justify decisions or actions and to deflect questions of actions that
are otherwise questionable. Experts were used by the SPCA to justify the
killing of thirty-four dogs that many volunteers and one staff member say were gentle and
friendly. That the dogs were not aggressive is confirmed by the fact that the Kelowna SPCA
allowed volunteers free and unsupervised access to the dogs for up to six months. The SPCA
kept the Beaverdell dogs in sterile cells, with little human interaction, and unneutered,
all factors which are commonly understood, even by those without degrees, to contribute to
high stress levels, and then the BC SPCA experts said they were unrehabilitable and would
have to be euthanized.
REHABILITATION OF DOGS
Topaz Creek: All dogs placed in foster homes - All dogs received
individual human care, socializing and attention while in foster care. None had litters.
All dogs were sterilized immediately. No puppies were conceived under Creston PAWS
custody. None were subjected to psychological drug therapy or to expert
assessments.
Beaverdell: Dogs were housed in chain link runs at Kelowna SPCA for as
long as seven months. Prolonged confinement by caging adds to desocialization and stress
in dogs. Dogs were interacted with and walked by volunteers during shelter hours (11 am -
4pm). The remaining nineteen hours a day were spent without outside stimuli. No dogs were
spayed or neutered during their rehabilitation period at the Kelowna SPCA. Spaying and
neutering helps to reduce stress levels in dogs by reducing hormone levels. Staff and
volunteers witnessed multiple fights between unaltered males over females in heat, as well
as copulation between unaltered males and females in heat who were housed together. Some
staff claim to have witnessed the conception of, and to have helped deliver as many as
three litters of pups. Interior Regional Manager Robert Busch admits that at least one
litter of pups was conceived within, and sold by, the Kelowna SPCA. The dogs were also
subjected to drug therapy. According to media reports, they were given Clomicalm
(chlomipramine hydrochloride) an anti-anxiety drug that is contraindicated in dogs with a
propensity to bite, including those who are fear-biters, as the drug decreases inhibition,
thus increasing the likelihood of the dog biting*. The SPCA claims these dogs were
aggressive and fearful. If this is true, why did the SPCA give them a drug that could make
them worse? The Beaverdell dogs were confined in cages in a stressful SPCA environment for
seven months. The SPCA claimed they were under intensive rehabilitation, and were being
"assessed". Intensive rehabilitation cannot happen when an animal lives at an
SPCA facility. Intensive rehabilitation can only happen when an animal is placed in a home
environment, with as little stress and demand on it as possible. SPCA facilities are
stressful for animals. The new SPCA "assessment tool" should not be used to fail
dogs that the SPCA has not permitted a chance to be socialized. To "assess" an
animal's temperament in a high stress shelter situation is unfair. Being confined in an
enclosed space with a stranger and being poked at with a plastic hand is terrifying. The
SPCA's new "assessment tool" is not designed to reveal a dog's true temperament,
as true temperaments don't show themselves under times of extreme stress. Assessment tests
are not designed to help animals pass, they are designed to expose the failures. So far,
34 Beaverdell "failures" have been killed by the SPCA. Hence, the new
"assessment tool" may be just the SPCA's latest excuse for killing. The question
begs to be asked: If the Beaverdell dogs were so aggressive that the SPCA had to kill
them, why were volunteers allowed to handle them and walk them in public places? (See
letters from volunteers:
KELOWNA SPCA VOLUNTEERS
SPEAK FOR THE BEAVERDELL DOGS)
DISPOSITION OF THE DOGS
Topaz Creek: All but two of the fifty-six Topaz Creek dogs were
rehabilitated and rehomed. Two dogs, Raven and Sumac, were euthanized for humane reasons.
Raven suffered from a large wound that penetrated to the bone, was in obvious pain, and
was completely unapproachable for treatment. Sumac suffered a severe physical deformity of
his genital organs that was painful and unalterable.
Beaverdell: Thirty-four dogs killed by SPCA (to date March 30/03). This
number does not include pups that died while in the custody of the SPCA (eaten or shaken
by adult dogs, low birth-weight, other causes). Of the original 47 adults seized, one was
returned to Lapointe. Of the 46 adult dogs impounded at the Kelowna SPCA 34 have been
killed and 7 remain and so 5 may be in foster homes or have been sold. The SPCA's figures
have been confusing because it sometimes includes puppies, both those seized from Lapointe
and those conceived and born while in the custody of the Kelowna SPCA, but as anyone can
sell puppies and needn't kill them, puppies are not germane to this issue and to include
them in statistics is misleading.
CHARGES
Topaz Creek: Any SPCA investigation was so botched that charges were
never laid. SPCA Local Agent Marg Truscott said to PAWS president when being urged to
seize the dogs, Well, what can we do? We cant just shoot em all,
and You cant fault a fellow for having a dream! (The dream Truscott
referred to was Meyers plan to use the dogs in a dog-sledding business.)
"Distress" under the PCA Act is a summary offence and prosecutions for summary
offences must be initiated within six months. The BC SPCA Board of Directors discussed the
Topaz Creek case at its board meeting of November 23rd, four months after the last dog was
removed from Meyers by Creston PAWS and with still 2 months in which to send a report to
Crown. No legal action has been taken. The SPCA permitted the press and TV to give it
credit for the rescue of the Topaz Creek dogs. This taking of credit very possibly
resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars in donations for Creston PAWS and the gain of
those thousands of dollars in donation for the SPCA. Creston PAWS begged the SPCA to act
and when it didn't, PAWS was forced to act itself and to assume responsibility for all
expenses. The agency that did nothing got the credit and the money; the agency that did
everything got the dogs and the bills. (AAS sent $500 to Creston PAWS.) Meyers will not be
prosecuted. Is this because to put this case before the media and public again would
reveal that the SPCA neglected these dogs, some of them in critical distress for years,
and then took credit for their rescue?
Beaverdell: Charges were laid against Gaston Lapointe. Quotes from
various news sources: Gaston Lapointe: (July 2, 2002) "I'm stuck with too many
adults. I hate to put them down. I offered the SPCA 20 months ago to take 12-20 dogs. They
said they weren't adoptable." Cindy Soules, BC SPCA: (July 9, 2002) reported as
saying that there are no plans at this time to put down any of the animals. October 9,
2002: SPCA gains possession of dogs, demands Lapointe pay $12,000 if he wants them back.
(SPCA is willing to return dogs to Lapointe after getting untold thousands in donations
from publicity and if it gets a further $12,000 from the man it has accused of neglecting
the dogs.) Lapointe is quoted: "I can't afford it. To get them back I'd have to do
like the SPCA does - cry to the public to get some funds." Nov. 1, 2002, Lapointe
pleaded not guilty to three criminal charges laid against him by SPCA. His trial is
scheduled for Sept. 16 and 17, 2003.
SUMMARY
Fifty-six Topaz Creek dogs had the great fortune to be ignored by the SPCA. Forty-six
Beaverdell dogs had the misfortune to be seized by the Kelowna SPCA.
*CLOMICALMŪ
Tablets are not recommended for the treatment of aggression disorders, and should not be
used in these dogs. Click
here for full product information.
See letters from Kelowna SPCA volunteers
here.
Beaverdell dogs in the news
here.
Topaz Creek page
here
See Vicki McDonald's letter about how the SPCA's CAMP would have killed the dogs
she rescued:
Topaz Creek rescued dogs
in the Creston Parade, May 17/03 |
|