Animal Advocates Watchdog

Whitehorse Star shows its true colours...

Note by Terry Cumming - the Whitehorse Star fed off this story and at the outset printed a nasty letter targeted at Whitehorse animal advocate Mike Grieco by a past president of the Humane Society Yukon. I had written a letter of defence of Mike and received a ridiculous reply by the ex-president which was published in the Star. Andrea Lemphers, her husband and another past president co-wrote a letter criticizing Mike Grieco, and myself, and criticized the newly elected HSY board for not speaking up in aid of the controversial and offensive ex-HSY president who was at the centre of the fight.

The saga wears on - the passion turns nasty (Editorial - Whitehorse Star, Nov 5/10):

Fifteen months, $45,000 worth of taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and still no resolution to the dog story that keeps on kickin’.

Those involved with the infamous Trevor’s fate made their latest appearance in Yukon Supreme Court on Tuesday. This time, a refreshing note of sanity to this saga was heard by all in Justice Ron Veale’s courtroom.

City lawyer Lori Lavoie essentially advised listeners that her client, having invested $45,000 in the legal and staffing costs surrounding this matter, wants to dim the lights of the circus tent.

The city wants the court to see that the Humane Society Yukon turns over Trevor’s ownership so he can be put down at the city pound. The society, of course, doth protest such a radical act.

Had the main players in this extraordinary chain of events had the benefit of a crystal ball, they would have likely resolved the situation in 15 days, not 15 months – and counting.

More than a year ago, the court, admirably well-meaning in its concern for public safety, handed down a lengthy list of conditions any new owner would have to adhere to.

Unfortunately, the stipulations severely restricted the pool of would-be owners game to take on the obvious challenge the dog represents. Hence, his only home has long been, and may continue to be until his dying day, the society’s Mae Bachur Animal Shelter.

Aggravating the situation is the notoriety factor. Trevor has now accumulated such a high-profile negative pedigree that even the thought of his going to a given community unleashes torrents of potential neighbours’ growls.

Perhaps most nonsensical in this serial is the small fraternity of letter writers and bloggers who have persistently accused reporters and news organizations, including ourselves, of either deliberately, or with unbridled ineptitude, whipping up a public frenzy.

That accusation rings as hollow as Scrooge’s Christmas Eve spirit.

When taxpayers have force-funnelled such a distressing amount of money into a cause that has so far provided little return, the media have the duty to scrutinize events.

And when such a bizarre sequence of events regularly saps the expensive time of city legal staff and a Supreme Court judge, not to mention his associated support staff, that’s news, in as offbeat a form as it may be.

The whacky nature of some of the media-bashing letters has verged on outrageous character assassination.

The insulting, unpublishable ambushes are so over the top, one would think the dog was being held hostage by a murderous band of ink-stained or microphone-toting anti-Trevor banditos disguised as journalists.

Our coverage has always pointed out the dog’s history of having seriously bitten one person – for reasons that are humanly impossible to draw conclusions on without an inherant twinge of doubt.

Trevor’s convoluted ownership after his initial adoption and the past abuse he suffered – including having had a chain grow into his skin – has consistenty been mentioned in media reports. So has the society’s dogged confidence that he could make a good companion to someone who can provide the right kind of environment.

It is not “bias” to remind readers or listeners that the court and a qualified animal behaviour specialist have concluded Trevor is dangerous, and will always possess an element of risk in his personality regardless of his surroundings.

Still on the subject of perceived “hack journalism”, our informal monitorings of the CBC’s coverage turned up one minor error: an incorrect title for a humane society board member – a mistake fixed in the very next newscast.

The true element of distortion here is the half-cocked mentality with which some critics have turned their literary guns on city officials, members of the media and even Andrea Lemphers, the humane society founder and a key catalyst behind the shelter’s establishment 12 years ago.

She, evidently, had the temerity to denounce the months of stinging personal attacks and question the vast amount of resources being devoted to Trevor – as opposed to those being used to help sustain dozens of other more adoptable dogs and cats.

She also expressed the absolutely valid concern about the society’s and its members’ liability should Trevor or some other questionably tempered dog injure someone it’s adopted out to. The public censuring she endured in the predicable minority of quarters was offset many times over by other Yukoners’ verbal expressions of agreement with her.

The Trevor case will end with certain observers supremely disenchanted and extremely browned off.

Until then and past then, it’s important to maintain respect and maturity in the strong, emotional expressions of views that are still sure to come.

Those stubbornly intent on breaking the rules of basic civility should realize that entrenched, uncalled-for vitriol alienates many reasonably thinking folks from the shelter’s work and the whole animal rescue movement – including potential adoptors of Trevor and a realm of other four-legged stars of the hour.

Nov 6, 2010 at 6:02 pm - Star subscriber comment from Dan Davidson of Dawson City:

Well put, whoever wrote it. Remember, though, that the canine champions have to have something to do in the off-season before they begin their annual fusilade of attacks on the dog mushing community. Quite a few of these folks have never allowed common civility to temper their Old Testament rants.

Messages In This Thread

Humane Society Yukon founder supports the killing of shelter dog Hunter and wants Trevor dead too..."no ifs ands or buts" *LINK*
Yukon News editorial 'Time to kill the [no kill] policy'
Do they do this with parolled sex offenders?
Whitehorse lawyers say Trevor is not a "dangerous dog" yet he has been kept in a prison cell for more than a year
Re: Whitehorse lawyers say Trevor is not a "dangerous dog" yet he has been kept in a prison cell for more than a year
I was elated to see the editorial Time To Kill The Policy
Tell the animal you're killing that you're doing it a favour
A firsthand experience of gassing cats
Gassing cats by a former SPCA employee
Former Nanaimo SPCA manager describes gassing
CBC Radio interview: 'Founder of Yukon Humane Society not pleased with animal rights activists' *LINK*
CBC failed to present balanced coverage (Whitehorse Star, Oct 29). *LINK*
CBC changed the web page address! *LINK*
Twisted egos began affecting animal care (Star, Sept 24)
The little lapdog named Honey who was euthanized by HSY
Whitehorse Star shows its true colours...
Dawson City letter writer: "Trevor the dog should have been taken out and shot"
Trevor the Whitehorse death row dog wins reprieve *LINK*
Re: Dawson City letter writer: "Trevor the dog should have been taken out and shot"

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