Kitchener couple convicted of animal cruelty after dog euthanized

A couple from Kitchener has been fined $750 each after being convicted of four counts of animal cruelty after their dog was found in a poor, distressed state last fall.In addition tothe fine, they receiveda two-year probation and are banned from owning any animals for five years.

David and Elaine Pageauappeared in court on Oct. 6, 2015, almost a year after the incident was reported.

The Kitchener-WaterlooHumane Society said they received theabandoned Chihuahua-type dog on Oct. 15, 2014.

Ontario's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) inspector GaryBoes worked on the case. He saidthe owner, David Pageau, brought the animal in claiming he had found it. But the dog had beenmicro-chipped, revealing the man and his wife, ElainePageau,as the owners.

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"I spoke with the individual ... he claimed he had given the animal away a year before that," Boes said."Theanimal was in rough shape, it was subsequently euthanized."

The elderly dog was left to suffer and was only handed over to the animal centre once it was too late, the inspector told CBC News.

"The dog had infection in both eyes, a mass on the abdomen, was anorexic and weak," Boes noted. The animal was also dealing withmild jaundice, moderate dehydration,abdomen pain and a ruptured anal gland abscess."

Theydid permit an animal to be in distress.- Gary Boes, OSPCA inspector

The OSPCA went ahead with charges against the couple after the husband refused to let his wife speak with authorities.

"They did permit an animal to be in distress," Boes said of the charges, adding the couple"did fail to provide appropriate medical attention."

'Give us a call'

Boes says the key to preventing these kinds of situation is education. If you have an animal you cannot care for, there are ways to prevent things from getting to this point.

"Give us a call ... we've done voluntary surrenders many times," he said."Don't let pride get in the way ...Don't let them enter distress."

New laws have teeth

Before new laws came into affect in the2000s, "the penalties were ridiculous, they're not ridiculous anymore," he said.

"I shudder to think about what would happen if we didn't have a Humane Society."

Boes saidprovincialinspectors have the power to visit those banned from owning animalsto ensure they're following orders.

"[It] makes no difference to me what state that person might be in."

People shouldn't behesitant to speak up when they see animals suffering because violence is violence and animals can't speak for themselves, he said.