Animal rescuer cleared of charges
By Jenn Marshall
The News Bulletin
Aug 07 2007
A Nanaimo animal rescue centre operator was cleared of animal cruelty charges this week.
The case against Stephanie Walker, owner of Walker’s Animal Rescue Centre, was dismissed in Nanaimo provincial court Monday.
She was charged with causing an animal to continue to be in distress under the B.C. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
“I’m just glad I’ve had my day in court and been found innocent of the charges,” Walker said. “We have taken a terrible hit in the past year and we just want to regain old supporters.”
Walker said a cat was taken from her home in February of 2006. Walker had rescued the cat and described it as “special needs” with an upper respiratory infection.
She said she took the animal to a vet a few weeks earlier and it was on medication. After the cat was taken, the Nanaimo SPCA was called and the animal was later euthanized.
“We have had to put animals down in the past. This was not one of those animals that deserved to have his life taken from him,” said Walker. “He was lean, but with some rescued cats, they’re going to only get to a certain weight.”
Walker said her animal rescue shelter lost volunteers, donors and sponsors over the bad press and she’s had to take in far fewer animals.
Walker’s lawyer, Paul Pelzer, said the judge found there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Walker and dismissed the case saying it didn’t make sense she would take the animal to a vet and then let it starve.
Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for B.C. SPCA, said Nanaimo SPCA officials got involved when they received a call from a vet’s office.
Moriarty said Walker’s former landlord had found the cat and brought it in to the vet.
Moriarty said an autopsy was done revealing the cat was emaciated with severe atrophy – partial or complete wasting away of the body.
“It led us to believe that the cat was abandoned and was not receiving treatment,” she said.
Jean Martin,
Nanaimo - NOTE. Dr Carol Ann Brown, of Departure Bay Veterinary Hospital, was the vet who put the cat (Sideways) down. Dr. Bhullar of Atlas Animal Hospital in Vancouver flew to Nanaimo to tesifty as he has been Stephanie's vet for many years. Stehpanie had sent Sideways to Br Bhullar to be treated just over two weeks before the cat was killed.