Editor:
I attended the sentencing of Brian Whitlock and was as devastated as everyone else in the courtroom about what amounted to a seven-day jail sentence for the horrific bludgeoning of his dog, Captain.
(Editor’s note: The Vancouver man was handed a 60-day jail sentence and lifetime ban on owning animals Wednesday after pleading guilty in April. He was to be released after seven days because of time served.)
We feared it would be a light sentence, as we know full well the lack of seriousness with which animal cruelty is treated by our courts. But even so, the sentenced imposed by Judge David St. Pierre shocked us all.
I am currently facing numerous charges for the rescue of abused dogs like Captain, two who were regularly beaten. And I have already spent more time in jail prior to a conviction for saving abused dogs (‘Dog rescuer’ to stand trial, June 13) than Whitlock will spend following his conviction.
The prosecutor in Whitlock’s case asked for a mere four-month jail sentence. The prosecutor in Robert Fawcett’s sentencing hearing in November for the bludgeoning deaths of dozens of sled dogs asked for no jail time at all. But the Surrey prosecutor on my case has stated she will be asking for two years of jail if I am found or plead guilty to rescuing abused dogs.
When it comes to suffering animals, and those of us who try to rescue them, there is no justice to be found in Canada.
And in answer to St. Pierre’s comment that trials for child abuse don’t get as many attendees in the courtroom as animals do, the answer to that is simple. We know children will get justice. And we know animals will not.
Janet Olson, Surrey