Monday, June 22, 2009

I'm glad people want to keep talking about Celtic Pets

I had this comment left on my blog post - "Animal Abusers - Celtic Pets - Court Decision is online now", and it's a beauty - read, and enjoy -

Joan, you are obviously very emotional about anything to do with Celtic Pets. It's understandable, you are very angry about the dogs you talk about and based on what you say about them, they do seem to have had a hard time. Please remember though that court documents are not necessarily factual in the sense that they are unassailable. OFten these "accounts" are restatements of police reports, or in this case, It seems, reports by the SPCA constables. This is one account, to the best of their abilities but it is written for their purposes, and sorry to say, not necessarily factual. If the judge was not presented with an alternate account (and that could be the case here, since no trial took place - they pled guilty at the arraignment, right?) - then he can use only what he was given. But he will cite the origins as well. It's too bad there was no full trial because I for one think while there were problems for sure, I also think there is a lot more to the story, and it might have been very helpful to bring it all out.


I just wonder who could have written something like that. I don't think it's written by either of the MacIsaac's. They are both quite arrogant, but one of them writes all her correspondence IN ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME, and the other one is too busy figuring out who she's going to sue to spend any time writing comments on silly little blogs like mine. So I wonder who it could've been. It does sound unbelievably like something from another blog that I've read recently though - check this out -

"In the end, Zonda Macisaac pled guilty to a single count of abuse (a "strict liability charge" because unintentional), as part of a deal to get some her own dogs back - only two of many dogs she had adopted herself, which should not have been seized. Her lawyer filed the guilty plea at the arraignment. This means no trial was ever held and no evidence presented by either side, so the full story has yet to be told.

And the verdict was harsh: Zonda had to pay a fine of a thousand dollars (or two), and is prohibited from having anything to do with dogs for 20 years, and the SPCA can show up at her house at any time to inspect he animals! Compare this outcome to the $5 fine levied on a Halifax woman who drowned cats in a bag (note that she claimed she had to because the SPCA would not take them)."


What a crock of shit, eh? At the beginning of May as part of a post I wrote about the apologists writing stuff on "other blogs" - and this is the vitriole I was talking about - and I posted a couple of these photos as proof in case anybody was starting to forget what actually what went on down at Port Hastings Cape Breton.

Obviously the apologists are counting on our memories starting to fade - so tonight I rewatched the news videos from the time around the raids, and thought I'd post some text from the stories - to give you some lines of what was said - to refresh our memories - and so the apologists will know it's not just me who thinks and knows the abuse and neglect that went on at animal abuser Zonda MacIsaac's building next to the Scharfenburg's house - and at Alice MacIsaac's house where my Jack came from.

So - here we go - with some photos to go along -




(remember Zeus the bulldog kept in a cage for 3 years because Zonda wouldn't accept any help from the rescue community and actually lied to people - telling people he was out in a foster home when he was actually in a cage rotting in Port Hastings?) - before the news piece the news reader says - "just a warning - some of these pictures may be disturbing to some viewers"

Do you remember Sean Kelly - who at the time was the SPCA Special Constable who went into the house and shelter and rescued all the animals? This is what he had to say on the video - (and it's because of his experience at Celtic Pets that he decided to go for Board positions to revolutionize the NS SPCA) - "this is by far the worst case I've ever seen, I've been doing this for 4 years and I haven't even heard of a case that is this horrific" - the smell on the premises was enough to make me physically sick as well as some of the - a dog with puppies that had no food or water, 2 dead dogs - an incredible amount of feces built up in the kennels - it was quite obvious that no one had been there for days - cats with broken limbs that have fused - they've never been to a vet and repaired -

"there was a kitten in the front of a kennel and a kitten in the rear of the kennel and it was discovered that the kitten in the front of the kennel was dead, and the kitten in the rear was staying as far as to the rear as he could".

Do you remember the dog "Chinchilla Charlie" - also known as Scupper? This is him knocked out so he could be shaved down - locked in a cage at Celtic Pets - gone completely cage crazy

Remember seeing this image on the news? This is the above dog - Scupper - living life to the fullest - at Celtic Pets - you can certainly say that this dog is a "victim" of Celtic Pets success!!!!This is the same dog that is in the above 3 photos - Scupper


"Nova Scotia's Premier says he is disgusted at images seen this week of dirty encrusted animals at a Cape Breton animal shelter - and he's not alone in his disgust over what happened - Rodney MacDonald said - "this is a situation which is unacceptable. Be it in a shelter, be it on a farm, bet it in a household - they deserve to be respected, they deserve to ensured that their safety, their health is looked after and maintained - and as province - we'll make sure that happens."

Leah Cross, the reporter in the video says "the conditions are evident in this video taken Saturday at Celtic Pets"

Steve Murphy said on his news piece - "they think of themselves as the best kind of animal lovers" - having a dead dog rotting in a box in your kennel - I would certainly love to hear how Zonda "accounts" for that - what is her "side of the story" about that?


When the SPCA arrived for their seizure - these puppies had no food or water - how does Zonda "account" for that?

In one of the news videos, the news reader says Zonda MacIsaac "has just lost all of her influence and credibility, and all of her animals" - and the story is described as one of the worst cases of animal abuse that officials have ever seen, and some of these pictures reflect that" - a house of inhumane horrors.

I do not buy the garbage this anonymous commenter is giving us. In a guilty plea there is an agreed statement of facts on both sides - the person who is PLEADING GUILTY TO THE CHARGES - agrees with the statements being made by the judge - and that includes the statements that the special constables and the judge is making - if they don't like those statements - they don't have to plead guilty and they can go ahead with the trial.

If you aren't guilty - then don't plead guilty.

And the news footage taken right after the seizure gives pretty irrefutable evidence of the animal abusers guilt I'd say.

Anyone who was at the shelter as the animals were being brought in can also attest to the shape that the animals were in - and I'm sure a couple of them will post comments to this blog post - and they probably will not do it anonymously - because there's no need for them to hide in shame like the rest of the apologists and bullshitters.

And there you have it - so of course I'm emotional about anything to do with Celtic Pets - animal abuse and neglect is very serious - especially when it's done so willfully and with such glea - and the people who do it are so arrogant and feel like they have some sort of entitlement about it - that THEY are the victims.

THEY are victims of their success in rescue so that animals had to suffer a "bit" - it had nothing to do with the animals - it was THEM who were suffering when things started to get out of control - "the numbers involved were greater than she (Alice) could handle and the situation became too difficult to manage."

The only victims here are the animals - especially the dead ones.

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:12 AM

    I would just like people to take notice of what a plea agreement is. The person pleas guilty because both the Crown and the accused work out a deal that suits the Crown and the criminal.

    No Lawyer recommends you plead guilty if you are innocent! Both parties have to agree on the statement of facts. At the justice's decision the accused has to verbally state that they are guilty of the charges brought before them. If they do not agree to either the statement of facts or the charge the plea is thrown out and a trial begins.

    What more is to say? If they are innocent maybe a public review of the facts is in order?

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  2. Anonymous7:29 AM

    Okay this is just disgusting. How anyone could EVER defend these people who left, what, 150 animals to live in feces and urine and basically starve to death, little innocent puppies and kittens living in crammed boxes without food or water to suffer to their horrible death. I fostered one of the dogs from this horrific situation and she was emaciated and completely mentally f-ked up because she spent the first year of her life living in a f-king crate. So to all those people who like to say "oh they started out with good intentions"...that may very well be, but in the end, good intentions mean a pile of shit to me when they allowed all those animals to suffer, and some suffer to their death. There is NO excuse for what they did, none, period. They plead guilty because THEY ARE GUILTY. There are mountains of photos and video to prove it, they could not deny it, the proof was overwhelming and it started with the 150 filthy, sick, f-ked up animals that they left to die in those buildings that the SPCA then had to spend, what, $100,000 to try to save.

    So to whoever wrote that stupid comment, if you think using your lawyer mumbo-jumbo BS words and "court documents aren't always factual" crap, you should go and visit some of the f-ked up animals that had to endure the wrath of these two horrible women, then and only then can you spew out that kind of CRAP. You are clearly not an animal lover of ANY kind as anyone with any level of care or respect for animals would NEVER defend the horrible treatment and suffering that these people forced on those innocent animals.

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  3. Janet Chernin7:53 AM

    Celtic Pets is still burned in my mind. When the past President of the SPCA called me to come to the shelter to see the animals seized -I was unsure of what help I could be yet I went to witness and was asked to somehow give an assessment as to their condition etc. I did say I did not have the expertise to give an assessment to temperment but would come to give any help I could.
    NEVER in my wildest dreams did I expect to see animals in that type of deplorable condition. This was systematic abuse - pure and simple these animals were left to live alone and neglected by Zonda and Alice. What a horror - what a CRIME - that could never be addressed by a fine.
    At the shelter I saw the FULL footage of the conditions at CP - and it was so graphic that the media would not put the more disturbing footage on air.
    Those poor animals - and I will never forgive Zonda and her mother for not reaching out for help to those that had supported them in the past.Whether it be hiding or denying - the truth is those animals SUFFERED for a very long time in their 'care'.
    God rest the souls of all those that died as a result of such neglect - God bless those that adopted those that were rehomed and are continuing to be rehabed.
    There is a special place in hell for the MacIssacs.

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  4. Anonymous8:00 AM

    “have had a hard time” is the most absurd understatement have ever heard, Jack with a ruptured eye? Chinchilla Charlie with matts the size of a baseballs, so that every time he moved it cause pain as the fur tried to pull away from his skin???? How can one make an excuse for that?
    I was at the NS SPCA the night jack brought in along with twenty-four other dogs, as well as one cat. Jack was in a deplorable state. The other animals were also in very bad condition, dehydrated and filthy. Most were covered in feces, and many were very timid and frightened.
    The day after he was seized from CP, Jack went to the vet for assessment and treatment.
    When we arrived at the clinic they asked us to go out back to the procedure room to wait, due to the smell emanating from Jack. The fur matted over his left eye was mixed with fluid from the rupture of cyst or ulcer, and feces. They required him to be shaved before any assessment could be done. After the Vet Tech completed this, an examination was completed. The vet found there was “no vision in the left eye. The glove of the left eye was one third the size of the right eye due to either a non- treated glaucoma [causing rupture of the eye], or trauma to the cornea with loss of the anterior chamber. Iris is scanned down to -1-2cm sciera is lumpy, irregular 3rd eye lid is also visible. Open of right eye is 11.1” Due to the state of his eye it was evident that Ms MacIsaac neglected to administer any medication or quality of care.
    Upon completion of the exam, Jack bathed twice, and clipped the matts that were able to be cut through with scissors. His nails had grown so long they were embedded in the pads of his feet. Showing further evidence that he had limited or no outside exposure. Those additional issues would have to be addressed under sedation. 5 days later Vet re-examined Jackie.
    She Prescribed optimmune opthalmic ointment, “the pimentrary keratitis in the right eye has been resolved, received optimmine SID right eye to EOD right eye. The eye is now comfortable.” The eye will not be removed unless it becomes a problem for Jack. Jack was sedated shaved and bathed at that time as well.
    Now tell me he didn’t suffer, and that is not abuse…i beg to differ
    Annette Armitage
    Animal Rescue Coalitions

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  5. Well said, Joan.
    You and I both know that this is nothing more or less than the latest diversionary tactic by a group of supporters of a very irresponsible animal owner that we once supported until the truth of the matter became known.
    It is propaganda, not truth, and meant to undermine confidence in anyone who supports the wonderful new path the society is engaged in. Thats how misinformation campaigns work, by attempting to divert attention from the actual wrongs that have been done
    Small children do it all the time ...when they come home from school and launch into a tale of how very bad some other kid was, most parents know that an admission of a 'smaller' bad is on the horizon. It is the hallmark of maturity to accept the consequences of our actions ... instead of presenting 'nova scotia bullsh** as truth.

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  6. I will NEVER forget my experience with the animals I met from Celtic Pets that were kept under the "care" of Zonda and Alice!

    I was called in by another person who was called in by the then SPCA President at the time.

    They needed volunteers and stuffs at the shelter to deal with the overwhelming number of animals - animals in horrid condition brought in from Celtic Pets.

    When I went over to the shelter just two days after the seizure I cant even describe the horrific sadness I felt for these animals.

    There was and will never be any excuse that could allow a person or persons - ZONDA AND ALICE - to justify allowing animals to fall into those levels of suffering for ANY reason.

    Whats worse with ZONDA and ALICE is they had good connections with people who would have done anything they could to help. ZONDA and ALICE DIDNT ASK FOR APPROPRIATE and TIMELY HELP - they allowed and even aided in this suffering by not speaking up or providing even the basic necessities of life etc. in my opinion and what seems VERY evident by the condtion of suffering of the animals I saw!

    OMG! Just the smell of the animals was overwhelming, then the matts and the long nails and the behaviors that were so DISTURBING.

    I really really cant describe it. It is etched so clearly in my mind so much so that after I read Joan's post last night I didnt sleep. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw those cats and dogs...I cried...yet again.

    The abuse of those animals by ZONDA and ALICE are what instilled the impetus in me to stop sitting on the sidelines and speak out LOUDLY for all animals. If these animals had been able to speak the tragedy would be so much worse in peoples minds than even the reality of it today. If they could say what it was like to live day after day in cramped uncleaned quarters with no food or water watching each other starve and suffer and some die and those remaining have to live with the rotting decomposing bodies of others I think we would quickly have seen laws change and plea bargains thrown out and ZONDA and ALICE found fully accountable for the outrageous and heartwrenching suffering and abuse of these ..what was it.. final tally 150 plus animals!!!!!!

    ANYBODY who dares to deny that ALICE and ZONDA are guilty of the autrocities suffered by these animals are deluding themselves and not respecting the lives of these animals who suffered tremendously in ZONDA and ALICE'S hands.

    ZONDA and ALICE - there is not justice for what you have done! There is no punishment that is good enough to fit the crimes you have pleaded guilty to!

    I will NEVER forget the autrocity and horrors of Celtic Pets. Nor should anyone else!

    HeatherM

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  7. Janet Chernin10:42 AM

    And I do wish that the ANONYMOUS poster had the cajones to own up to who they are and their relationship to this case and how they could ever champion or even condone the reprehensible actions of Zonda and Alice. Those dogs and cats deserved better and the MacIssacs had an endless resources i.e. other rescues that would and could have HELPED these animals before they were so badly abused and neglected.

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  8. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Joan,

    That post reminded me of the ones that woman on the kijiji forum used to make. Remember her? She used to portray herself as the Queen of the Cat Cuddlers and she was forever playing the apologist for Gas Bag and Keddy. She was also the resident legal "expert" (being a legal secretary and all), and was forever lecturing posters on their lack of legal expertise. The topper was when she defended that lawyer asshole who offended so many people at last years SPCA AGM.

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  9. KarenB11:28 AM

    Every time one of my cats throws up, in my mind's eye I see 65 cats running for that bit of vomit because it's *something to eat*, and I don't expect that will ever change.

    All either one of them had to do was pick up a fricking PHONE and say "I need help now, I'm overwhelmed" and people would have come.

    You know what? What goes around comes around. There's a special hell for both of them and I can't wait until they get there.

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  10. KarenB11:54 AM

    As "that woman on the Kijiji forum", it was not me as I don't post anon. And Zonda and Alice are in no way, shape or form "innocent", they're both pieces of shit - that's obvious to me and always has been. The anon poster seemingly feels different. It's true that judges can only decide from the info they have and if all of the info wasn't there then someone f*cked up. The decision was apalling, the fine made me sick to my stomach, and the fact that those two actually won the privilege of having ANY animals in their care makes me want to go rip someone's face off.
    In any event this isn't about P, J or TD as only good has some out of that whole mess. It's about keeping Celtic Pets at the forefront so it doesn't happen again.

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  11. Anonymous12:50 PM

    What are these "other blogs" you're referring to? I think it's good if the rantings of these lunatics are monitored and challenged.

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  12. Thank you, Joan, for continuing to fight against the opinion that Zonda and Alice are anything BUT guilty in this.

    I volunteered with the Celtic Cats. I adopted one of them. Despite the lack of care she received from Zonda, (and because of the care she received at the shelter) she is lovely. She is vibrant. She is a bundle of pure energy and love. BECAUSE of Zonda, she will walk and run and play with a limp for the rest of her life. She faces the probability of early onset arthritis and possibly even amputation.

    Given what Zonda and Alice had done- the trauma they inflicted on so many animals, it shocks me that someone thinks that the verdict is harsh. Too many cats and dogs will have scars for the rest of their lives because of what those two did. How many died in their "care", never knowing anything but hunger, thirst, neglect, fear, pain and illness? Never knowing what it would be like to be in a home where they would be loved and cherished? How many died after coming into the care of the SPCA due to injury, illness, or the psychological trauma they suffered? After only catching a glimpse into the good life?

    The sentenced they received is harsh? No, I don't think so.

    They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Zonda and Alice's "good intentions" certainly proved to bring a great deal of hell to the poor animals they claimed to be helping.

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  13. Commenter from 12:50 - you want to know the blog that my quote was coming from - it's a blog called "Nova Scotia Truth is stranger than fiction" - and funnily enough - you'll only find a link to it from the "Free Brindi" blog - I'm not sure why that is...hmmm... - it's at http://novascotiatruth.blogspot.com/ - judge it as you like for it's propoganda.

    Joan

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  14. Anonymous10:21 PM

    Are you and Netta still corresponding with Zonda? That was rather disappointing to read on that other blog.

    I understand your earlier anger at the SPCA, but can't fathom why you would have ever corresponded with her after the raids.

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  15. Of course we are not still corresponding with her! We corresponded with her after the raid because it was a very different time - after the raid there were different people in charge at the NS SPCA and those people were threatening to send special constables to my house to take Jack from me and put him in a cage at the Dartmouth shelter so that he could be killed like they did Chinchilla Charlie - so we did what we had to do to keep Jack alive. And neither Netta or I have any regrets at all about what we did. Jack is still alive today - and Chinchilla Charlie aka Scupper is dead. Netta tried very hard to save Scupper - and unfortunately it didn't happen. We didn't get to get him out in time. But Jack is alive. He wouldn't have been if he'd been seized back and sent back to a cage at the Dartmouth SPCA.

    Little aggressive biting dogs with bad atttitudes did not last very long at that shelter at that time.

    I don't know if you cared to notice, but almost all of my emails are either about Jack, or the dead dogs, or buttering up Zonda's ego - which wasn't too hard to do.

    Joan

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  16. Anonymous2:35 AM

    Let's not forget that a very short time before this happened they were looking for donations for another "rescue" they had registered as a national charity. They were even looking for donations of dog boots and dog coats. I can't think of the name of it right off the top of my head (CAPS) but a few months ago I phoned the CRA to report it because it STILL had national charitable status. They are human pieces of shit. Remember that frankie goes to hollywood video where they put the politicians in the boxing ring? Let's put Gail Benoit and Zonda MacIsaac in. Let's hype them up on roids first too. Grrrrrrr. And they stood up at the AGM in 2005 and shot their mouths off about everything. They didn't let anyone get a word in edgewise. I remember thinking doesn't anyone else see that these women are money grubbing weirdo dirtbags that dress like the adams family? Like were the people in charge at the time blind and deaf?

    I remember about 4 years before all the shit went down phoning Zonda and telling her she needed to spay and neuter animals she was placing. And she argued about it. Hello you are a rescue you have to spay and neuter you moron.

    I remember her becoming somehow impossible to contact when my friend fostered for her and it was supposed to be for a few weeks and it turned into forever.

    She was an irresposible piece of crap even long before she turned into the monster we all now know.

    I have another friend who adopted a dog from her that is so aggressive they can't have company. Zonda said the dog was fine.

    Rotten, rotten, rotten.

    Her and the Benoit people better not ever run into me. These people that are a waste of oxygen.

    angela & nelson

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  17. Anonymous7:52 AM

    in addition to Joan’s response whether she or I were still in contact with Zonda, no we are not, after the raid yes, there were animals that needed protection and that was the only means. My feeling at the time is I would have dealt with the devil her self to save those we could (and I did deal with her) as Joan said, no regrets at all for that…Jackie is alive!!!
    Netta

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  18. Anonymous12:55 AM

    A few random remarks on these comments.

    - The first comment was good, except that there are times when a lawyer will recommend you plead guilty even if you are not. It happens all the time (especially if you are a black man in Texas) - it's a way to get a lesser sentence for criminal charges. The crack defense lawyer Joel PInk says he won't represent anybody unless they agree at the start to plead guilty if he decides it is in their best interest. Also I think you can change your plea after a trial starts, etc.

    - Who is "championing" ? Who is condoning? Sorry but it seems to me the postings Joan is going on about are more about her and Netta. And I agree, it is disappointing. It's hard to tell what is what; what to trust in this she said-she said stuff happening - all without the persons being able to defend themselves. The rest of this - well, whatever, it's rehashing a lot of what happened in the past, no? - I don't really want to read this stuff anymore, so I won't; plus the same old fists raised about anonymous posters, who cares; it's done everywhere.

    - At the same time nobody seems to want to revisit the past of the SPCA. Including a number of animals that should not have been put down, I seem to recall. And a few other raids, like a dozen or two horses here and there, a few lies... But the consensus seems to be, among the crowd here, at least, that it's unfair to talk about the past of the SPCA. Old Gorbachev said something about ignore history and be doomed to repeat it...
    Look at what is happening in Toronto.

    - "It is the hallmark of maturity to accept the consequences of our actions" resonates somehow.

    - According to the online adoption form, the SPCA does not always adopt out only spayed or neutered animals either. Asking people to go away and do it within 30 days and come back and show proof is kind of dismaying. I don't know how often this happens but I would have thought it would not even be a possibility that somebody could adopt an animal from the SPCA that was not neutered or spayed beforehand.

    - If this is must continue to be a topic, can I at least ask, what are the stats on the Celtic Pets raid? How many dogs, cats put down, how many adopted, and so on? Is there a final report or something that is available to the public?

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