Owner of AK, pup whose ears were butchered, faces seven counts of animal cruelty
Ontario SPCA
Thursday, June 07, 2007
NEWMARKET, ON, (June 7, 2007) – The owner of AK, the puppy who grabbed national headlines after his ears were cut off by his owner in an alleged attempt to make the dog look “more menacing,” faces animal cruelty charges following the results of an investigation conducted by the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society.
Rony Salman, 29, of Windsor, has been charged under the Criminal Code of Canada with seven counts including wilfully causing unnecessary pain, suffering, and injury by severing the dog’s ears; wilfully causing unnecessary pain, suffering and injury by failing to provide veterinary medical attention; and wilfully neglecting or failing to provide suitable and adequate care for a dog.
The Ontario SPCA investigation began on May 11, 2007 when the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society received an anonymous call saying that a dog was in distress at a Windsor apartment building. Ontario SPCA investigators attended the property and found AK, a six-month-old German shepherd-Rottweiler mix, whimpering on an apartment balcony with his ears cut off. The puppy was bleeding, shaking his head and pawing his ears.
The owner was not home and the dog was seized by the Ontario SPCA to receive immediate veterinary care. The owner later surrendered the dog to the Ontario SPCA. Shockingly, a loop-hole in Ontario law would have allowed the owner to get his dog back during the investigation had he not surrendered it.
AK, despite his traumatizing ordeal, has maintained a happy and loving demeanor. He suffered no internal damage to his ears, and his wounds have since healed. Shelter staff have received many adoption applications and are in the process of selecting AK’s adoptive family.
If convicted of any of the seven Criminal Code charges laid, the court has the ability to sentence Salman to six months in jail, and/or a $2,000 fine. In addition, the Criminal Code allows the court to prohibit animal cruelty offenders from having custody of an animal for a period of two years. If this offence had occurred in any province other than Ontario, provincial animal cruelty legislation would have allowed for up to a lifetime ban on owning an animal and for investigators to lay charges sooner. In addition, some provinces, such as Alberta, have higher fines of up to $20,000.
Rony Salman is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice, Windsor on August 23, 2007.
Sadly, two animal protection bills that would have helped start to bring Ontario animal welfare laws up to the standard of other province’s legislation were killed June 5 when the Ontario government adjourned the house early.
Despite the McGuinty government’s broken promises, the Society is continuing its efforts to hold the government up to its promise to conduct a comprehensive review of the Ontario SPCA Act with the goal of revamping many other sections of the legislation in order to bring it to the standard of other province’s legislation, and to offer all animals in the province protection.
Take Action!
The Ontario SPCA encourages all Ontarians to make it known to their Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) that welfare legislation needs to be a plank in the platform of their political campaign leading up to the election later this year. Also, contact Monte Kwinter, Minister, Community Safety and Correctional Services and voice your demand that the government honour its promise to conduct a comprehensive review of the Ontario SPCA Act with the goal of improving the legislation to protect vulnerable animals.
Visit www.gov.on.ca and click on Contacts – MPPs to find the contact info for your MPP.
Write: The Honourable Monte Kwinter
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
18th Floor
25 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1Y6
Fax: (416) 325-6067
Phone: (416) 325-0408
Media Contact:
Hugh Coghill
A/Chief Inspector
(905) 898-7122 ext. 342
hcoghill@ospca.on.ca
or
Lana Drouillard
Director, Community Relations and Development
Windsor-Essex County Humane Society
(519) 259-9600
To report suspected animal abuse call the Ontario SPCA at 1-888-ONT-SPCA (668-7722) extension 1, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), your local Ontario SPCA Branch, affiliated humane society or police.
————————————————————————————————————————The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Ontario SPCA): Protecting animals since 1873, the Ontario SPCA is a registered charity comprised of over 50 branches and affiliated humane societies relying primarily on donations to fund animal protection, care and rehabilitation for all animals, government and industry advocacy, and public education. The Ontario SPCA Act mandates the Society to enforce animal cruelty laws and provides Society investigators with police powers to do so – making the Ontario SPCA unique among animal welfare organizations in the province. The Ontario SPCA is a member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and is affiliated with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Ontario SPCA Provincial Office, 16586 Woodbine Avenue, RR3 Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 4W1 • 1 888 ONT-SPCA (688-7722) • www.ontariospca.ca • info@ospca.on.ca
Charitable Business Number 88969 1044 RR0002
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