Over 40 dogs found in Fort Qu'Appelle home, court documents show
Two men from the Fort Qu'Appelle area were found guilty of causing distress to animals in a dog hoarding case.
According to court documents, Morgan Desjarlais and Gary Gillingwater had a total of 48 dogs in their home.
Judge Kevin A. Lang passed down the decision in Fort Qu’Appelle on Jan. 30.
Following complaints and worries about the wellbeing of the animals in the two men’s care, Animal Protection Officers visited the home three times from Oct. 21 to Dec. 15 of 2021.
During the visits, officers described the home as having “unsanitary living conditions” with urine and feces covering the floors and some portions of the walls.
The home was also described as very cluttered with garbage piled in all of the rooms and a strong smell of ammonia filling the air.
Food and water were available to the animals, officers noted during each visit. However, many of the dogs were found to be “unkempt with fecal balls attached to them, long nails and matted coats.”
During the second visit by authorities, the bodies of two dogs were seized and another one was euthanized due to ‘medical distress reasons,’ court documents showed.
“Clearly, little to no effort was put into cleaning the Residence as Animal Protection Officers felt that the overall condition of the Residence was either no better or was even worse as time passed,” the decision read.
“Clearly, many of the dogs needed immediate medical attention – one dog needed to be euthanized the same day due to its poor condition. The condition of all the dogs was and continued to be in jeopardy throughout this timeframe given the unsanitary conditions of the Residence.”
During the third visit by authorities, both Desjarlais and Gillingwater surrendered 13 dogs while another 32 dogs were seized by officers.
Both Desjarlais and Gillingwater were found guilty under the Animal Protection Act 2018.
If a person is convicted under the act, the possible penalties include a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment for up to two years.
A prohibition or restriction on owning animals for a specific period may also be included.
Sentencing for both of the accused is set to begin on Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. at Saskatchewan Provincial Court in Fort Qu’Appelle.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.