Is Alberta woman Canada's worst pet owner? | Fort McMurray Today
Thursday, January 29, 2015 8:59:31 MST AM
Dog walker sent to jail for death of 6 dogs
CALGARY -- She's had a total of 319 dogs seized from her care over the past eight years, in three separate raids spanning two different provinces.
The list of injuries and ailments has included broken bones, starvation, parasites and fur so badly matted the dog in question couldn't defecate.
April Irving is without a doubt one of the worst pet owners Canada has ever seen -- and yet, with a tradition of soft sentences for animal abuse and no way to keep track of those convicted, it's very likely she'll soon own a hoard of dogs again.
"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry -- yes, we've obviously dealt with her before."
That's how Tricia McAuley took the awful news of yet another alleged neglect case: she's a spokesman for the Saskatoon SPCA, which helped to handle the last dog disaster linked to Irving.
But a Saskatchewan court ruled the only thing rotten was Irving's care of the dogs, which were all eventually rehabilitated and adopted out.
Charged under Saskatchewan's Animal Protection Act, Irving was eventually found guilty of non-criminal neglect and fined $5,000, the highest penalty possible at the time.
She was also forbidden from owning more than two dogs at a time for a decade -- a restriction with absolutely no teeth in Alberta, where she now lives.
The wolfhound club has been involved with all three of Irving's clashes with animal protection officers, including a 2007 raid with saw the Fort McMurray, Alta., SPCA seizing 36 huskies and wolfhounds from a northern Alberta kennel run by Irving.
"I won't take more dogs than I am comfortable with," she said.
"It's very disturbing to know a person can (allegedly) do this on more than one occasion," she said. "That's the way the laws are unfortunately."
It's not that the law doesn't provide for harsh sentences -- Alberta's Animal Protection Act sets the maximum penalty for animal neglect at $20,000, along with restrictions on owning pets, while the Criminal Code of Canada states anyone causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animal faces up to a $10,000 fine and a maximum of five years in jail.
Even if convicted of neglecting the dogs from Milk River, there's little chance of Irving serving time in jail, and nothing to stop her from establishing a new hoard of mutts somewhere else.
Is Alberta woman Canada's worst pet owner? | Fort McMurray Today
Thursday, January 29, 2015 8:59:31 MST AM
Dog walker sent to jail for death of 6 dogs
CALGARY -- She's had a total of 319 dogs seized from her care over the past eight years, in three separate raids spanning two different provinces.
The list of injuries and ailments has included broken bones, starvation, parasites and fur so badly matted the dog in question couldn't defecate.
April Irving is without a doubt one of the worst pet owners Canada has ever seen -- and yet, with a tradition of soft sentences for animal abuse and no way to keep track of those convicted, it's very likely she'll soon own a hoard of dogs again.
"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry -- yes, we've obviously dealt with her before."
That's how Tricia McAuley took the awful news of yet another alleged neglect case: she's a spokesman for the Saskatoon SPCA, which helped to handle the last dog disaster linked to Irving.
But a Saskatchewan court ruled the only thing rotten was Irving's care of the dogs, which were all eventually rehabilitated and adopted out.
Charged under Saskatchewan's Animal Protection Act, Irving was eventually found guilty of non-criminal neglect an
d fined $5,000, the highest penalty possible at the time.
She was also forbidden from owning more than two dogs at a time for a decade -- a restriction with absolutely no teeth in Alberta, where she now lives.
The wolfhound club has been involved with all three of Irving's clashes with animal protection officers, including a 2007 raid with saw the Fort McMurray, Alta., SPCA seizing 36 huskies and wolfhounds from a northern Alberta kennel run by Irving.
"I won't take more dogs than I am comfortable with," she said.
"It's very disturbing to know a person can (allegedly) do this on more than one occasion," she said. "That's the way the laws are unfortunately."
It's not that the law doesn't provide for harsh sentences -- Alberta's Animal Protection Act sets the maximum penalty for animal neglect at $20,000, along with restrictions on owning pets, while the Criminal Code of Canada states anyone causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animal faces up to a $10,000 fine and a maximum of five years in jail.
Even if convicted of neglecting the dogs from Milk River, there's little chance of Irving serving time in jail, and nothing to stop her from establishing a new hoard of mutts somewhere else.