A 30-year-old Dartmouth woman is facing four animal-cruelty charges after SPCA officers seized a dog from her home.
The SPCA says the officers responded to the woman’s home on Feb. 25 after making several previous attempts to check on the animal.
They found the dog suffering from a serious medical issue and ordered the owner to bring her pet to a veterinarian for treatment.
The officers returned to the home to check on the dog, which the SPCA says was found in the same condition, and hadn’t been treated.
The dog was seized and brought in for medical treatment. It remains in the care of the SPCA.
“Pet ownership is a serious commitment and owners must be willing to treat their pets when they are ill and in need of medical attention,” said Jo-Anne Landsburg, chief provincial inspector for the Nova Scotia SPCA, in a statement.
“If you cannot afford treatment, it is your responsibility to reach out for help and not let an animal suffer.”
Vanessa Wilson-Hatt is facing charges of causing a dog to be in distress, failing to provide an animal with adequate medical attention when the animal is wounded or ill, confining an animal to an enclosure or area with inadequate space and unsanitary conditions, and failing to comply with direction under the Animal Protection Act.
Wilson-Hatt is due to appear in Dartmouth provincial court on April 9.
The SPCA says, when an animal is seized in Nova Scotia, the owner has a right to appeal the seizure. An appeal has been filed with the Animal Cruelty Appeal Board and is set to be heard on Friday.
