A man from North Preston has been charged on 3 counts of animal cruelty.

Gary Simmonds was charged with causing animals to be in distress contrary to section 21 (1); failing to provide animals with adequate water and food, contrary to section 22 (a) confining animals to an enclosure to an area with inadequate space and unsanitary conditions contrary to section 22 (d) of the Animal Protection Act of NS

In mid-November, 2017, SPCA officers responded to a complaint that there was a mother dog and puppies living outside in the cold. When officers attended, a female dog was observed with a litter of puppies living in an outdoor pen with an inadequate source of shelter. Officers issued an order to comply to the owner to bring all dogs inside and provide appropriate shelter along with adequate food and water.

Two days later, officers returned to the property for a recheck and found the mother and the puppies all living outside in freezing temperatures and in the same inadequate shelter. The owner was not home at the time of the visit and SPCA officers seized the mother and 8 puppies from the property and were taken into custody of the SPCA.

The required seizure appeal notice was left for the owner however no appeal was filed with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture’s Animal Cruelty Appeal Board. The mother dog and all of her puppies were treated and housed until they were ready for adoption.

Simmonds is due to appear in court on February 22, 2018 in Dartmouth Provincial court.

The NS SPCA operates on a policy of zero tolerance for animal cruelty and sets the standard of animal care for the province of Nova Scotia. The NS SPCA urges you to report acts of animal cruelty by contacting our confidential toll free hotline at: 1-888-703-7722

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Source: Media Release