The Milk River Dogs former owner pleads guilty to animal abuse charges

[Catherine]

This is a serious animal abuse case. There were over 200 dogs involved. Some were already dead. All were living in terrible conditions when they were seized. Charges were laid against their owner and she has chosen to plead guilty.
It is good that their owner plead guilty. There was overwhelming evidence against her and I would hate to think of anyone being called to jury duty in this case.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/a...-1.5223990

The whole community had to come together to rescue so many dogs and transform their lives.
In 2016 they made a documentary about the dogs called The Milk River Dogs. They wanted to show the wonderful resilience of these dogs in response to the loving care they received.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche...-1.3960441

I can't find a copy of the documentary right now, but it is worth searching for. 
The amazing thing is how the dogs responded after their rescue. They were physically transformed into healthy dogs. 
Enough good care would do that. They also became happy trusting dogs. It is remarkable that animals who had been so abused could become loving trusting dogs so quickly.

I hope I can find a link to the movie. Somewhere must still have a copy.

[Tobi]

How horrible for those poor dogs, and I am glad to hear many survived, and are happy now.

What is the matter with someone who treats dogs (or any animal) like that?
They said a psychiatrist had assessed her and found she was mentally fit to stand trial, thus that she doesn't have a mental illness.
But.... how could she say she loves them , and carry that dog poster about, after the way she had treated them, long term? And she has history of animal abuse.

Yes I would like to see that documentary if you do ever find the link Catherine.

[Catherine]

I understand the dogs are all doing well now. The ones that survived that is. I don't understand how someone can keep animals in such terrible conditions and still say she loves them. It is a misplaced love that is really more about selfishness than actual care.

This is one of many hoarding situations. I don't know if there were always animal hoarders, but there are certainly many of them now. I saw a whole "pack" of dogs at the shelter on Monday. They had them in the dog park playing together. They are good with other dogs, but they have little experience of dealing with people. The shelter staff are working with them to socialize them. They will be ready for adoption soon, but they will need to go the families who understand their history.

The Milk River Dogs are exceptional. There were so many and they seem to have responded to love and care and really become well adjusted dogs.

https://www.ecwid.com/store/milkriverdogsdocumentary/


I am hoping this is a link to the movie.