Darky's mommy in the news =0

[DarkStar]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/04/24/dogs-rights.html#


A human rights tribunal is hearing the case of a Saskatchewan woman who says officials killed her three dogs because she's on welfare.
On Thursday, the tribunal in Regina heard testimony from Jacqueline Nash, who says the Town of Wolseley euthanized the dogs because it assumed she couldn't pay to get them out of the pound.
It's illegal under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code to discriminate against people collecting public assistance.
Nash described her German shepherds as her best friends.
"I am disabled and fairly housebound. They are with me all the time," she said. "They are constant companions."
Three years ago, her mother dog and pups got out of her house in Wolseley, which is about 100 kilometres east of Regina. Nash spent the next several days frantically searching for them. Animal control picked them up and by the time Nash found out, the three dogs had been put down.
"Here they had been within blocks of my home. I'd asked everywhere to find out where they might be. I was absolutely devastated," she said.
One of the dogs was licensed, and so could have been traced back to her, she said.
She thinks town officials didn't tell her they had been picked up because they assumed she wouldn't be able to pay the nearly $1,000 it would have taken to get them out of the pound.
Town of Wolseley lawyer Juliana Saxberg said officials weren't obligated to inform Nash. The town denies it discriminated against her.
"Even if everything turns out to be true, I'm not seeing that discrimination directly connected to the receipt of public assistance," Saxberg said.
Under the town's dog bylaw, animals at large are impounded for three days and if they're not claimed, they're killed, Saxberg said.
Nash wants to be compensated for her suffering.
The hearing before tribunal chair Dirk Silversides continues Friday.
And More Recently



http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/12/05/dogs.html#socialcomments




A Saskatchewan human rights tribunal has ruled the town of Wolseley, Sask., discriminated against a woman because she was on social assistance.
The dispute began about three years ago when the town euthanized three dogs owned by Jackie Nash.
Nash testified at a human rights hearing last spring that after the German Shepherds disappeared one morning, she frantically searched for days.
She contacted the town, but was told it knew nothing about them. Nash eventually discovered her three dogs had been impounded, then killed.
The town of Wolseley has a bylaw prohibiting dogs from running loose, without tags.
Nash complained that town officials didn't tell her the dogs were impounded, because they assumed she couldn't afford to pay the fines to get them released.
In the decision issued Friday, the tribunal agreed the town violated the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code when it treated her unfairly on the basis of her income.
Wolseley must now pay Nash $1,500 for the loss of her dogs and another $5,000 for her mental suffering.
My thoughts on this? What a bunch of fucktards that did that to my mom. You guys have known me for years and you have seen tons of pictures of my animals and I bet even you guys can tell my animals are well taken care of.

Here is the actual court decision for those of you that care and have lots of time on your hands.

http://www.saskhrt.ca/Nash%20v%20Town%20of%20Wolseley.pdf

[Bloodcinder]

That's awfully shitty. And I'm pretty sure that you have to be notified when your property is seized under any circumstances, unless Canada is bass ackwards.

[DarkStar]

They were supposed to notify us they were just being assholes.

[Killer_Man_]

Especially since you guys actually called the city/pound. They said they knew nothing.

What a bunch of douchebags.

[chefTENGU]

Seriously. At least they ruled that your mom should be compensated. I hope the city isn't going to try and appeal this or something.

[Seegtease]

This has been a 3 year process, or have I misread? That's a pain to wait that long for any kind of compensation.

[DarkStar]

Its been 3 years since they killed my mom's dogs but it only finally went to court in april. Chef they have until dec 29 to appeal but even if they did I don't think anything will change.

[The Moody Ronin]

I don't see any mention of any compensation for legal fees. Hopefully that means that there were none to pay for... >.>

[Sunflower]

The thought of perfectly healthy animals being euthanized makes me sooo sad inside:(

[DarkStar]

Nope she didn't have to pay for her lawyer, they did it for free.

[Sunflower]

Something very similar just happened where I live
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/dec/11/pollphotos-familys-lost-dog-euthanized-despite-mic/

Despite microchip, family’s lost dog euthanized

By JOHN OSBORNE
Originally published 01:30 p.m., December 11, 2008
Updated 07:32 p.m., December 11, 2008
NAPLES — After losing their beloved Lhasa Apso, “Katie,” following a series of unfortunate incidents in late November, the Suzanne family of Naples is on a mission.
Maureen Suzanne said her family is currently working to create a nonprofit organization meant to shed light on the importance of checking lost family pets for microchips, one of which was placed on Katie.
Suzanne said the 13-year-old Katie, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was seven, slipped out the back door of the family’s home in the Aviano subdivision Nov. 30 following a bath and wandered off without a collar. A neighbor 10 houses down soon found the blonde-haired dog and took her in; but 48 hours later, Katie was put to sleep.
Suzanne, who owns SRI Marble & Granite on Radio Road in Naples, said she had taken Katie’s collar off for a bath in the morning before being called away to help her mother-in-law with a hot water tank problem. Upon returning home later that evening, Suzanne said Katie was gone.
“We rode around the neighborhood and called and called and called around, but nobody had seen Katie,” Suzanne said. “The next morning we went to the Humane Society and Domestic Animal Services, but nobody had seen or called in about her. That night, we put fliers all around our community, and the following morning we were back at the Humane Society and Domestic Animal Services, combing their Web sites with pictures of missing dogs, but no luck.”
The Suzannes’ bad luck would continue later that night when the family again searched the neighborhood for Katie.
“On Tuesday night, we were driving around the neighborhood when we ran into a couple walking two black Labs,” Suzanne said. “We asked them if they’d seen our dog, and the man didn’t say anything at first. Finally, they told us that they’d found a little dog and taken it to their vet to be euthanized, but that the vet said the dog was a Yorkie mix and not my dog. At that point, I was still holding out hope.”
That hope would prove to be short-lived, however, as the story of Katie began to take some bizarre twists and turns — including a visit from Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
The next morning, Suzanne said, she again sought out the neighbors who said they’d taken in a small dog. After some verbal wrangling, the couple finally told Suzanne that the wayward canine had been taken to the Animal Hospital of Bonita.
A short time later, Suzanne said, she was in front of the receptionist’s desk at the animal hospital.
“The lady there said they’d never seen my dog and that they weren’t going to talk to me about it because I wasn’t their client,” Suzanne said. “I told her that I was there to find out what they’d done with my dog, to see if Katie was still alive or dead or what. That’s when she told me that she’d call the police if I didn’t leave. I told her that she might as well call them now, because I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Soon after, Suzanne said, Lee County sheriff’s deputies arrived to investigate.
Not long after authorities had shown up, Suzanne said the animal hospital staffers finally agreed to share information, but only with the neighbor who’d brought the stray canine to the pet clinic.
An attorney representing the clinic said due to confidentiality requirements imposed by state law, Animal Hospital of Bonita cannot release information on the dog.
“If and when the full facts can be disclosed, we are confident that it will be determined that the hospital acted properly and with the utmost care and compassion for the dog,” attorney Vicky Sproat said.
In the end, Suzanne said, the mystery dog turned out to be Katie. After her euthanization, she’d been taken to Greenbriar Memory Gardens For Pets in Apopka to be cremated.
Several frantic phone calls ensued before Suzanne said she managed to halt the procedure just in the nick of time.
“Now Katie’s finally back home and we can put her to rest properly,” Suzanne said.
Dr. Lesli Reiff of Westcoast Veterinary Hospital in Naples said checking strays for microchips is standard operating procedure at her practice.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but we routinely scan strays for microchips,” she said. “A lot of families and their pets are reunited like that.”
Reiff said certain scanners only pick up specialized microchips, but most scanners will at least let you know that there’s a chip present.
“That’s the whole idea behind microchips,” she said. “But my gut feeling is that there is more to this story than meets the eye. The dog may have looked really rough and the vet was worried about its quality of life.”
Suzanne, however, said Katie’s medical problems did not rise to the level of warranting euthanization.
“She was old, but she had no gray hair,” Suzanne said. “She had a tumor on her chest from the breast cancer, but we decided that she was too old for surgery and to just let her live out her life until she wasn’t comfortable anymore. She was 13 years old, but she acted like she was two. Did she have cataracts? Absolutely. But we loved her anyway. Cataracts and lumps and bumps and whatever else she had going on.”
Dr. Bob Marsch of Harborside Animal Clinic in Naples said his practice also routinely scans stray animals for microchips.
“That’s the first thing we always do, scan them for microchips,” Marsch said. “There’s always a chance that it’s somebody’s pet, and that’s what microchips are for — to potentially reunite the lost pet with its family. I would think the majority of vets would check for them.”
Not surprisingly, Suzanne said the main focus of her family’s nonprofit organization would be to underscore the importance of checking stray animals for microchips.
“I don’t want this to ever happen to another family,” Suzanne said. “Never again.”
For more information on “Katie’s Story,” visit www.katies-story.com (http://www.katies-story.com).