Sask. woman who had more than 100 cats in a home shelter guilty of endangering animals | The Canadian News

The founder of the Saskatchewan Alley Cats Association may have a “big heart,” but she is still guilty of putting animals in danger, a provincial court judge ruled.

Dolores LaPlante of Elrose, Sask., Was convicted last week during a court appearance in the nearby community of Rosetown. She was charged in connection with a January 2019 animal welfare removal of 106 cats, two dogs and a turtle from her 400-square-foot home.

“The size of Ms. LaPlante’s home was grossly insufficient to support the number of cats and resulted in grossly unsanitary conditions and poor air quality,” Chief Judge Shannon Metivier stated in a written decision.

The court heard that many of the cats suffered from serious communicable diseases. During the search warrant, a vet heard the cats cough and sneeze.

During the trial, LaPlante maintained that the cats were happy, healthy and could be adopted out of their home. She also argued during a voir dire that an Information to Obtain (ITO) search warrant document unfairly suggested that she was a “crazy cat lady.”

LaPlante was originally charged with animal cruelty and negligence under the Penal Code, but those charges were dropped during the trial. She was found guilty of a statutory non-criminal offense under Saskatchewan law. Animal protection law.

“Having a big heart is not a defense under Act”Metivier wrote. “Millisecond. LaPlante had a responsibility not to accept more cats than it could provide reasonable housing and care.”

The judge declared that the conditions in LaPlante’s house “were a situation that she caused herself.”

In his 15 years with Saskatchewan Animal Protective Services, Executive Director Don Ferguson said the case ranks in the top five worst conditions he has seen.

“Animal protection officials saw conditions that were certainly unsanitary,” Ferguson told Global News. “There were several days of urine and feces accumulated on the floor.”

Officers wore full personal protective equipment but still suffered ammonia burns or exposed skin rashes. They needed treatment from the doctors themselves, Ferguson said.

The judge imposed a $ 400 fine against LaPlante, along with a lifetime limitation of two dogs and three cats. Animal protection officers can also conduct warrantless house searches, provided they provide 48 hours’ notice.

“Until recently, a lifetime ban on limiting the number of people in Saskatchewan was unheard of,” Ferguson said.

The limitation effectively secures the end of LaPlante’s home shelter, although he told Global News that Alley Cats has not accepted any new animals in the past two years.

LaPlante’s response

In an interview Friday, LaPlante said his health has worsened in recent years. It has been almost three years since the animals were taken from her home.

“This just destroyed me,” LaPlante said in an interview. “It just breaks my heart and it’s not something you can recover from.”

The founder said the organization still has 26 cats in foster care that the organization hopes to adopt. She said the process could take a year or two, but Sask Alley Cats will dissolve once the cats are adopted.

LaPlante said it has rescued more than 8,000 cats since its operation began in 1996. He graduated from the Kelsey Institute’s animal technology program in 1998.

“Now, with my poor health and everything, I look back and it doesn’t even seem possible,” LaPlante said.

The court heard that the cat population in Alley Cats was typically 60 to 80. The number soared between 2017 and 2018 to around 150 cats and kittens.

Prior conviction

In 2011, animal welfare officials removed around 70 animals, mostly cats, from LaPlante’s home on Elrose.

He pleaded guilty to putting the animals in danger, while an animal accused of negligence was suspended.

In 2013, a judge ordered him to pay a fine of $ 250.