Friday, March 28, 2008

Cruelty Charges laid in Celtic Pets Case today


So today cruelty charges were laid in the Celtic Pets case - 4 charges each against Zonda MacIsaac and Alice MacIsaac. The evening news reports are below.

It looks like the NS SPCA is saying that between January and February 2008 that Zonda and Alice willfully neglected the animals in their care and they're charging them under the criminal code of Canada for it.

I love in the news piece how Judith Gass goes on about that the seizure:

"We did a great job on this. I think we did an excellent job, we did a job that we were asked to do on under the Act, we're asked to work this... we're asked to work if we get a complaint, we're asked to work with this person, we have worked with this person, uh we worked very hard, we would have moved heaven and earth to resolve this situation..."

I should say though that she said this on March 14th (the line above her head says "February 7th" - I think Elizabeth Chiu's editors got their dates mixed up - Judith Gass is wearing the same clothes and petting the same cat that she was petting the day she was interviewed for my news piece about my letter from the SPCA - which was March 14th, 2008) - and it's also interesting that today they're giving her the title of "NS SPCA Investigations Chair" - she's not a "Spokesperson" for the NS SPCA today. For all of you who are keeping track - isn't that interesting?

Anyway - here's the news piece:



Friday evening the Chronicle Herald posted an article stating what the charges are (it's interesting that so far they are only served with a summons):

Mother, daughter charged in animal cruelty case

By The Canadian Press
Fri. Mar 28 - 8:05 PM

PORT HAWKESBURY _ Charges have been laid against a mother and daughter in Cape Breton in connection with a highly publicized case of animal cruelty.

The charges follow the seizure last month of dozens of cats and dogs found soaked in urine and covered in their own feces.

The accused are Zonda Lee MacIsaac, owner of Celtic Pets Rescue, and her mother Alice MacIsaac, a former SPCA special constable.

They are each facing four counts _ two under the Criminal Code and two under the Animal Cruelty Act.

The charges are wilfully permitting unnecessary pain and suffering to animals; having care of domestic animals and failing to provide proper care by providing food, water and shelter; allowing an animal to be in distress; and wilfully causing pain to an animal.

The charges against the elder MacIsaac relate to 24 dogs and one cat, while the charges against Zonda MacIsaac relate to 27 dogs and pups and 78 cats.

The two women were served with a summons Friday and are scheduled to be formally arraigned on the charges during a provincial court appearance May 21.

An animal shelter was raided Feb. 2 and 105 animals were removed.

Days later, an additional 25 animals, believed to be overflow from the shelter, were seized from a home in a Port Hawkesbury subdivision.

Several cats have been euthanized due to sickness and others continue to recover from respiratory illnesses.

Most of the cats were found in a sewage-filled basement, covered in so much fecal matter that some had to be shaved.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:15 PM

    This makes me want to throw up. Judith is the investigations chair now? When will the madness stop. HOW will the madness be stopped?? I am disgusted.

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  2. Anonymous8:51 PM

    this is TRUE just like PAM - who is the President and Vice President and HEAD OF THE SHELTER sigh NO WONDER her own DOGS are caged all day and most nights ... hmmm isn't it Pam who publically SLAMMED Alice saying dogs need to get outside for exercise and their health

    Judith wears many hats - DUNCE cap would be applicable if she wasn't such a SNAKE ...
    she is an OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON - and PUPPET MASTER ... PLUS she is the CHAIR of the INVESTIGATIONS

    my oh my those women SURE work HARD at keeping everything in thier clutches!

    Heaven help the SPCA if they DO NOT get rid of these control freaks who have eroded the very structure that the SPCA as a PUBLIC NON PROFIT - CHARITABLE ORG should uphold ...

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  3. Anonymous10:22 PM

    I am totally sick over this. I can't even fathom how they came up with four charges. Cripes it should probably be closer to atleast four charges per animal!!!!!

    Pam and Judith have to go. This is just another example of their total incompetence in my opinion.

    How can you neglect animals for over a month (because that's all the charges say..January and until they were seized February - not including the time from October when they got the evidence! or earlier when they were asked to investigate) KNOWINGLY and have represented yourself to the public as a "rescuer" (fraud comes to mind) and get four measley charges for the suffering of over 140 animals?

    This is so ludicrous it is unbearable.

    What is wrong with the system that it is failing so poorly for the animals it is meant to protect? How is it able to be misused or interpreted in such away that Pam and Judith can get away with this!

    I am wondering if they scored a deal with Alice and Zonda to take this fall for so few charges so that A and Z will keep their mouths shut about what they know for fact of Pam and Judith.

    It comes down to this...to hell with Pam and Judith....we need to get the laws changed in such a way that the SPCA has no choice but to lay charges and act in a professional manner or they will be held accountable! Which Pam and Judith should be!

    Just my opinion...made with a very tired mind....this just made me sick.

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  4. Anonymous10:39 PM

    This isn't just about Pam & judith. this is about the whole board every single person that sits on that board is responsible for what is going on. That is how a board works. The whole Board is not doing their job whether it be from ignorangce or fear or just plain being a yes , yes kind of person.
    Pam & Judith wouldn't be doing this kind of stuff to innocent animals if the Board had the guts to face the fact that something is terribly wrong and start asking questions and get rid of the incompetence.
    It is the whole Board every single person on that Board is responsible for Celtic Pets and every other Celtic Pets. The degree of abuse at that place for the length of time it has been going on there are enough laws in placve at this time , as wrotten as they are there are stll enough to charge a case this bad. The office staff in Bedford that know what is going on are responsible also they need to stand up and speak for the animals , thats who they work for thats who needs a voice the animals need a voice, I figure it would only take one strong person to stand up and speak for the animals for the rest of the decent people to follow. Lets see if these 4 charges call loud enough for decency to speak up.

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  5. Anonymous12:16 AM

    You know.. I've looked at the report a dozen times now. If you ask me, this is the first time I've seen Judith blubber. (I would love to ask Elizabeth Chiu if that was filmed two weeks ago.. Can anyone identify if it was the same picture in the clip?)

    I can't wait to find out all the other crap that's going to come up! Good for the Antigonish SPCA piece with the girls admitting that they knew and had notified the proper people about such problems at Celtic Pets.

    I hope to god this is going to be an open court hearing cause you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be there... I'm not sure if I should be protesting there or at the AGM.

    Yeah Judith the investigations chair... that's like telling a girl who had been abused by her father that her father is going to represent her in court.

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  6. Anonymous12:57 AM

    You should get your shovel out when Judith talks. To shovel up the shit as she is full of it! :)Just couldn't resist!

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