Youth charged with abuse of Alberta dog pleads guilty

A 17-year-old Alberta youth pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of animal cruelty in a horrific case of abuse that made national headlines.

A Lab-border collie cross named Daisy Duke was found barely alive and had to be euthanized by a veterinarian in October 2006 aftershe was dragged behind a car with a rope around her neck, a bag over her head and all four legs bound.

She suffered injuries including a broken neck, back and pelvis.

Tamara Chaney, an outraged animal lover in Didsbury, collected 110,000 signatures from across Canada on a petition calling for new legislation on animal abuse. The petition was later presented to Parliament.

Sentencing arguments for the youth's conviction on the animal cruelty charge will be heard May 10, the same day that a second charge against the youth of causing death or injury to an animal will be dealt with.

Another male accused, Daniel Charles Haskett, 19, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial May 23. The dog had been a family pet in Haskett's home.

Current laws allow for a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $2,000 fine for a conviction under animal cruelty provisions of the Criminal Code.

Two competing bills in parliament

Earlier this year, the federal Conservative government announced it would support a bill introduced by Liberal Senator John Bryden, known as Bill S-213, which would raise the maximum jail term to five years and the maximum fine to $10,000.

However, many animal-welfare groups oppose that bill, complaining that it continues to treat animals as property and doesn't address cruelty to wild or unowned animals.

Many such groups have put their support behind Bill C-373, a private member's bill introduced last fall by Ontario Liberal MP Mark Holland, who has complained the animal cruelty laws haven't been modernized for 100 years and are "woefully inadequate."

The final hour of second reading debate on Bill S-213 has been tentatively scheduled for April 24. Bills need to go through three readings before becoming law.