Pet dog euthanized hours before family returns from vacation
Ontario humane society out of control, protesters say
Jeffrey Hawkins
National Post
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
When Sunny Reuter put her dog Arko in a kennel for 10 days she was assured her animal would be cared for until her return from vacation. But on the last day of her vacation, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals seized her dog and euthanized it hours before she returned.
Then Ms. Reuter and the kennel's owner were charged with animal abuse.
Ms. Reuter produced a clean bill of health report from her vet dated 90 days before the dog's death and the charges were dropped.
But the experience turned Ms. Reuter into a staunch foe of the OSPCA -- but not before she found others like herself.
"There are dozens of people who have gone through far worse than I have and I worry there are dozen more whose stories just haven't been heard yet," Ms. Reuter said.
These stories reflect a change of pace at the OSPCA, where the number of orders issued to investigate animal-abuse claims have increased six-fold over the past six years. This has raised suspicion among critics who suggest the OSPCA is abusing its powers with ill-equipped investigators.
The province has commissioned company Grant Thornton LLP to review OSPCA's governance and investigative the procedures and release a findings report this year.
"Their [OSPCA] powers need to be softened," said Carl Noble, Mayor of South Bruce Peninsula and a former director of OSPCA.
The issue was made public last month when a group of about 30 protesters gathered in front of the OSPCA's head office in Whitchurch-Stouffville. They handed out flyers stating the "government, not the humane society, should be in charge of enforcing laws to protect animals and to prosecute offenders."
Ms. Reuter, a single mother from Richmond Hill, shared the story of her 12-year-old, rare Akbash breed with the crowd.
The OSPCA claims it was called in by someone at a Schomberg boarding kennel to investigate a case of animal abuse when an official happened to find Ms. Reuter's dog, which appeared to be in poor health.
So, acting on provincially appointed policing rights, granted under the OSPCA Act, "the vet decided it was in the best interest of the animal to be euthanized," former OSPCA chief inspector Mike Drapper reportedly said of the August, 2003, incident.
"They said he looked sick and couldn't stand up," Ms. Reuter said. "But if they had stopped to listen to the owner of the kennel she would have told them that Arko had just finished eating. She wasn't suffering, she was full and needed to rest."
An necropsy showed Arko had not been abused and, in fact, was a very healthy old dog, Ms. Reuter added.
Others in the crowd described similar situations, where their pets or livestock were seized and euthanized and the owners charged with animal cruelty.
One of them was Wendell Palmer, a former biology teacher and animal care specialist.
Mr. Palmer, a farmer near the Niagara Falls Welland region, described how humane society officials descended on his 14-hectare farm to investigate animal abuse. Five humane society officials and a police officer attempted to euthanize his 800-pound English black boar, a rare breed, along with two ewes by shooting the animals with the officer's firearm.
"After four or five shots and some thrashing around I went in," Mr. Palmer said. "The boar was standing in the corner with a nosebleed. The stupid asses were shooting him through the nose. They had no clue, not a clue where his brain was."
This is where Lorne Honickman, Ms. Reuter's lawyer, sees the problem with OSPCA investigations.
"These investigators are nothing more than volunteers who eventually stick around long enough to work their way up to the point where they have police-like powers," Mr. Honickman said.
But Hugh Coghill, acting OSPCA chief inspector, asserts that candidates for the 31 inspector positions (for the 27 branches and 31 affiliates) go through three weeks of training with an additional week later, and must have at least a high school diploma.
Previous reports show the majority of inspectors have a background in municipal or police law enforcement. Some are registered veterinary technicians,
© National Post 2006