Transcript of hand-written statement by Ruth Pare
May 7/01

Ruth Pare Statement re Do-Little Farm

Statement of Ruth Pare regarding the conditions found at the rental farm of Sylvia Rutledge called Do-Little Farm.

I was asked by Sylvia to look after the animals while she was in Alberta at an auction. The dates I was asked to feed and water the animals was from Friday afternoon, Apr. 13th/01 to Sunday evening or Monday morning as her ex-husband Clark was to stay at the farm Thurs evening and Fri morning and he and their two teenage daughters would tend to the animals those days.

I went to the farm Wed evening Apr.11th at which time Sylvia showed me briefly where the animals were and told me what to feed them. She said to feed morning and evening and don’t worry about cleaning them as they would be fine except for the cow and possibly the two calves. She also said she would leave written instructions on the cages.

I noted at the time the cages and the pens were extremely dirty and the small animals in the house and in the semi-trailer were the worst. The baby ducklings and the chicks were in a cardboard box and in a dog crate in the upstairs bathroom. Sylvia said they had been in the bathtub but she was either going to take them back to the auction or put them outside when she got back.

When I arrived on Friday at 3:00 pm I had my 19 year old daughter with me as she was going to help me feed and water the animals. At that time we found two dead guinea pigs in the pen in the carport. Also there was one dead rabbit in the small utility trailer and two rabbits with green crusty noses and one sick rabbit in a messy box. The ducklings and the chicks were not in the bathroom so I thought Sylvia had taken them to the auction with her. I found them approximately ½ hour later in the semi-trailer in 5 gallon aquariums – 6 to 8 ducks per tank and all of the chicks in one tank. There was one dish in each tank – empty and the bedding was completely soaked. The other small animals in the cages and tanks on the shelves had no water left in any of the water bottles or dishes. Some had no food dishes at all and I assumed the food was just dumped into the bedding material, which was full of food debris and feces and urine. Having bred and kept rodents and birds myself in the past I know how dirty the cages get in one day and this was much more than one days dirt. The cages and tanks were in exactly the same conditions as when I was there on Wednesday evening. The birds in the cages in the house and the sugar gliders and tortoise housing was littered several inches deep with dried orange peels and rotten and dried fruit debris, and fruit flies. The litter in the cat boxes was caked solid and stuck to the bottom with no clean litter left for the 3 adult cats and 4 kittens. The two tortoises were in a 5 gallon tank with an empty dish, two dried orange peels and a bit of mud. There was a dead guinea pig in a plastic bag by the door inside the kitchen. The four dogs in the sunroom were in dirty conditions but had food and water.

My daughter and I were there until approximately 7:30 pm just feeding and watering. I cleaned some of the cages (the ones inside the house first). Sylvia had said I was welcome to stay there overnight but I found I could not sleep in the house in that condition. I returned at 7:00 Sat morning and found another dead rabbit and another sick one. The 3 dogs in the semi-trailer were let out first, and when I went into the house to let the four dogs out of the sunroom I found one of them in convulsions and the room was covered in feces, vomit water and spilled food. That’s when I called the SPCA, as I had no other contact numbers to call. There was no cel phone# left for Sylvia, no vet# and no # for Clark Rutledge. I had wrapped the sick dog in a clean blanket and put her in my vehicle but couldn’t stop the seizures and wasn’t sure what was wrong. The officer from the SPCA arrived at approx 10:30 after a second phone call from me at about 8:30am a call from them to me at about 9:15. He checked the animals in the garage, house and semi-trailer and then called the shelter to report and ask for an inspector to come out and he also suggested that the Surrey large animal inspector come out and bring a veterinarian. He said the two calves were emaciated and the one large horse was emaciated. He also said he was taking the dog to the vet as I was unable to. I then had to leave the property, as I had to look after a friend’s store for the day. I made arrangements for my daughter to go to the farm and wait for the Surrey inspector to arrive, which she did. When the inspector from Surrey arrived, she showed them the conditions of the animals inside and outside including the dead rabbit and the sick rabbit, which they took to the vet. She said they told her she could leave and they would look after things there. They phoned me twice to tell me what was happening and ask questions. The women SPCA person told me the rabbit died on the way to the vet and that I was to continue with the responsibilities of the care until Sylvia returned at which time they would talk to her. They said they had no authority to remove any dead animals and had decided not to seize the two calves or the one horse at this time. I returned to the farm Saturday at 5:30 pm and continued to clean cages, and pens and feed and water. At this time there was another dead rabbit and I took a half burned chick carcass from one of the dogs, also a dead guinea pig from another dog. Also found a dead guinea pig in a plastic bag in the kitchen by the door that had been there on Wed evening when Sylvia had me come to the house. At that time and on Fri I thought it was cat food in the bag as it was beside the bag of dog food. I was at the farm until 10:30 pm Sat. I returned on Sunday morning at 7:30 to continue with cleaning, feeding etc. Sylvia’s ex husband arrived at approx. 10 am to see what was happening as Sylvia had called him from Alberta. I told him what I had found and showed him the filthy pens and the fact there was no proper food for the calves, the pig, or the llamas, or the chicks and ducklings. He said it was nothing to do with him, as he didn’t live there. However before he left he did say he would buy whatever food I said the calves and the pig needed and that he would take over the care on Monday. I said I would make sure everyone had food and water Sunday nite. I left to go get some dinner about 4:00 and when I returned at approx 6 pm there was a new padlock on the gate and I could not get in. I called the SPCA and let them know I had no access and they said don’t worry they would get in if they needed to. Before I left Sunday I dug out the two fire piles in the yard and in the one behind the semi-trailer I found several burned carcasses of guinea pigs and chicks, which I put in a bag on top of a blue barrel by the trailer. The dead guinea pigs and the dead rabbit I put in a plastic bag in an old washing machine tub by the door to the house – in the carport.

Ruth Pare