The Richmond Review: May 21, 2005: Dog Owner Charged After Ill Pet Euthanized

http://www.richmondreview.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=45&cat=23&id=430199&more=

By Martin van den Hemel
Staff Reporter
May 21 2005

Nicki was in severe condition, SPCA says

A local German shepherd-cross was so severely ill, suffering from an ear infection, skin problems and poor teeth, that when the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals impounded the stray pet, they later had to euthanize it.
But Laverne Walker, the owner of Nicki, tells a different story of how she was pressured to sign-away her beloved run-away pet after it was impounded by the SPCA in March and then wasn't informed until relatively recently that she had been euthanized.
"Not only did they take her from me, but they euthanized her and now charged me. It just makes me sick."
Walker is charged with animal cruelty, but she says she loved her pet, who wasn't in the terrible state the SPCA claims it was.
Following a complaint lodged by a neighbour just last year, an SPCA officer came by and declared Nicki was fine, Walker said.
Nicki's dry-skin condition was nothing knew, Walker said. She brought her to a veterinarian just two years ago, and paid a couple of hundred dollars to find out what was wrong. She had been spreading a cream on her dog to address the problem.
And while Walker was aware Nicki had dry ears, she didn't know there was an ear infection behind it.
And as far as poor teeth, Walker said Nicki had a broken tooth, something the unemployed 46-year-old couldn't afford to have fixed.
Nicki got free in March and soon after was picked up by the SPCA. When Walker found out, she went to the SPCA office to reclaim her dog, but they refused to release her, and instead pressured Walker to sign the dog over to them, she said.
When the SPCA said the health conditions needed to be addressed, Walker made calls to at least one charitable organization, Animals in Distress, for help.
Then on March 7, Nicki was euthanized.
"She was a part of our family. I was just crying my eyes out...I couldn't afford her."
Walker said she's got poor teeth too, but since she doesn't have a dental plan, she can't afford to get that work done.
B.C. SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk said Thursday it was evident that Nicki's condition "had been going on quite a while without treatment."
"The amount of pain caused by the infection...the dog didn't want anyone near it...it got quite aggressive when anybody tried to touch it."
Walker was apparently aware of the dog's poor health, but didn't want to pay for the necessary medical treatment, Chortyk said.
Walker's 18-year-old daughter said the family has had the dog-a Germen shepherd, Akita, Rottweiler cross-for about the past seven years.
It escaped when someone let her out of a fenced area, Walker's daughter said, adding that Nicki was a beloved pet.
"We did the best we could for her. My mom didn't have money for that," she said.
After she was caught, the SPCA brought her to an independent veterinarian who recommended it would be more humane to have the dog euthanized than undergo the necessary medical treatment, Chortyk said.
The dog was about nine years old and was picked up as a stray and impounded.
A decision was made to bring this case to the Crown's attention because this was a "clear case of neglect," Chortyk said.
Meanwhile, Walker's application for Legal Aid was denied, even though she qualifies because of her minimal income. She said she was told they won't represent her on this type of charge.