A 72-year-old Nova Scotia man is facing a slew of animal cruelty charges after the SPCA seized 22 dogs from a property in Kings County.
The SPCA received a complaint in October that several dogs in Wolfville weren’t receiving proper care and that their owner may be running a puppy mill.
SPCA officers responded to the residence and found some violations of the Animal Protection Act, but the officers worked with the owner to try and gain compliance.
The organization received a new complaint in December and conducted another inspection. This time the officers found several violations and seized a dog for medical issues. They also ordered the owner to bring the conditions up to standards.
SPCA officers returned to the residence on Jan. 10 to check on the dogs and see if the owner was complying with the order. They seized another dog, but the owner denied them further access to the property.
SPCA officers returned five days later with a search warrant and seized 20 more dogs, which remain in the custody of the SPCA.
Brian Merrill Levy has been charged with causing animals to be in distress, failing to ensure that an animal had an adequate source of water, failing to provide adequate medical attention when an animal was wounded or ill, failing to provide an animal with reasonable protection from injurious cold, interfering and obstructing a person exercising powers, and failing to comply with direction.
Levy will be arraigned in Kentville provincial court on March 12.
“This has been an exhausting case for the investigators with a total of 22 dogs seized,” said Jo-Anne Landsburg, chief provincial inspector for the SPCA, in a statement.
“Our staff have been working very hard caring and socializing the dogs and we are now able to place them for adoption as soon as they have been all spayed and neutered.”
