A 20-year-old Chatham woman has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges for failure to provide veterinary attention for her pet dog.
Brittany Billard pleaded guilty on May 31, 2017 in Chatham Provincial Offences Court to one count of failing to provide medical attention for a nine-week-old puppy that jumped from a moving car and broke its leg.
On July 18, 2016 an Ontario SPCA officer attended a residence after receiving a tip there was a small white puppy with a broken leg. The dog, thought to be a Shepherd/Great Pyrenees cross, was discovered, with a clearly broken left leg.
The puppy’s owner told the officer the dog had jumped from a moving car days before. Although she took the animal to a vet following the incident, she did not follow through with the treatment recommended by the veterinarian. The accused claimed she could not afford treatment for the puppy – which was subsequently seized by the OSPCA for non-compliance of the order.
The dog required a leg amputation and has since been treated and adopted into a new home.
“There is no excuse when it comes to failing to care for your animals. If you are having difficulty providing care for your animals, contact the Ontario SPCA to discuss your options,” says Carol Vanderheide, Regional Inspector with the OSPCA. “We would also like to remind pet owners to confine their animals to the back seat, either in a carrier or pet seatbelt, when travelling.”
Billard was sentenced to a three-year prohibition on owning animals and received a fine of $650. She was also ordered to pay $1,880 in restitution towards the care of the puppy.
