100 Sled Dogs Slaughtered when B.C. tourism slumped

reply to post by Jinglelord


What proof, other than holy and philosophical thoughts, can there be for spiritual matters? I concede that I can not prove the existence of souls whether in man or animal.

CALGARY -- The B.C. man who admitted slaughtering 100 sled dogs last summer should have known a Canmore company he once applied for would have taken in any unmanageable canines, says its owner.

Canmore, Alta.-based Snowy Owl Dog Sledding Adventure Tours has adopted out retired dogs for years and even has waiting lists for those wanting to give them a second chance.

The ones who don't find homes get to live out the rest of their lives with the company and it's almost unheard of to have a healthy dog euthanized, president/owner Connie Arsenault said.

She said the man at the centre of the slayings, Bob Fawcett, who her company declined to hire in 1997, would have been well aware they would be a willing option in his bid to find homes for the 100 dogs killed -- but he never contacted them.

"Just because they are bred to be a sled dog, doesn't mean they always want to be sled dogs," she said.

Last week, a B.C. SPCA official said experts advised sled dogs are not adoptable.

The comments were made after claims by Fawcett, who was an employee at a Whistler company called Outdoor Adventures, that he was twice refused by the shelter when he asked them to adopt
www.torontosun.com...

Linda
As an ex-dog musher now living on Vancouver Island I have been totally shocked and sickened by the slaughter of these dogs. Culling of puppies and teams in the dog mushing world is a well-known fact but I have never heard or seen of anything so inhumane. I totally disagree with the SCPA's following statement - “What people have to realize because of the way they’re raised they’re not highly adoptable animals. Maybe a few could have been adopted but these dogs are on tethers 90 per cent of their lives.". When I dissolved my team, many went to caring and accepting families with children. They are loving and obedient not "wild creatures" as the SPCA would have us believe. Sure, they may not be house-trained or unable to climb stairs but trust me, once they have had a taste of indoor home life, your hard pressed to get them away from curling up next to the wood stove. As this Saturday is the beginning of the Yukon Quest in Whitehorse, I would be interested in hearing the chatter amongst the mushers and vets on the race. Outdoor Adventures and, the gentleman responsible for the culling should be prosecuted to the full extent that Provincial and Federal Laws will allow. Let's set a precedent here !!

www.globaltvbc.com...

Can't they just let them go, at least! That's horrible, so what happens when Sea World profits and tourism starts slumping are we gonna nuke shamu.

Originally posted by mileslong54
Can't they just let them go, at least! That's horrible, so what happens when Sea World profits and tourism starts slumping are we gonna nuke shamu.

These Dogs are a lot closer to wolves so would become very dangerous scavenging for food.No
fear of people!Never good idea to let any dog loose. There would have been no problem adopting the dogs out. Information on that in previous posts.

I heard that the sled dog company has hired a publicist.

Owner explains why Whistler sled dogs were put down

VANCOUVER—The owner of a B.C. company connected to the slaughter of as many as 100 sled dogs says the cull wasn’t related to a post-Olympic drop in sales.

Joey Houssian of Outdoor Adventures tells The Canadian Press he was told by the man caring for the dogs that some of the animals needed to be put down because they were aging and sick.

The company is under heavy criticism after the general manager of Howling Dog Tours, which provides tours for Outdoor Adventures, told the province’s workers compensation board that he slaughtered between 70 and 100 dogs in April 2010.

Houssian says it wasn’t a business decision, as leaked WorkSafe BC documents claim, and he notes he was only ever told that 50 animals needed to be put down.

He says he wasn’t involved in that decision because he trusted the expertise of Robert Fawcett, the general manager of Howling Dog Tours, who he says had an excellent reputation for running his sled-dog operation.

Houssian says he still doesn’t know the number of dogs that were euthanized or whether the gruesome details in the workers compensation documents happened as described, but he says he takes “moral responsibility” for whatever actually occurred.
www.thestar.com...

reply to post by amy2x


I've never seen a four legged animal more worthy of killing than these things that pretend to be human, even as they do the most disgusting things.

We've got a kitten some SOB through out of a car on a six lane highway, along with three of her siblings. Amazingly, only one was run over. We got the muchkin of the lot, and she's a little darling and daddy's girl.

I could kill the guy who did it.

That is the one thing that worries me about carrying a concealed weapon - I'd use it if I witnessed something like the dog kills.

If someone broke into my home in the middle of the night, I could shoot them and then sit and eat leftovers while the cops came. They would have picked the wrong house.

But how you treat animals tells more about you than anything else.

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
I've never seen a four legged animal more worthy of killing than these things that pretend to be human, even as they do the most disgusting things.

That is the one thing that worries me about carrying a concealed weapon - I'd use it if I witnessed something like the dog kills.

And so it goes....

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
reply to post by amy2x

 

But how you treat animals tells more about you than anything else.

I couldn't agree more!

Well I probably could but it would take a little work.

I have little tolerance for a person who doesn't respect life. There is always an alternative to cruelty and the only reason to take a life is to directly protect yourself. I see dead cats and dogs sitting on the shoulder or freeways and roads all the time and I can't help but think someone had to swerve out of their way kill an innocent animal waiting to cross the road.

Angers me to no end.

reply to post by Jinglelord


I saw someone do exactly that 11 years ago. They swerved out of their way to run over a tortoise on a highway I was trying to save. If I had a gun on me then, I'd be in jail; I'm a good shot.

As is, me and my girlfriend (sounds silly when she's 50 and I'm late 40's, to say boyfriend and girlfriend, doesn't it) we have four and a half rescued cats (one's a munchkin, daddy's girl and tiny) and two road rescued and scarred up tortoises.

Nice to meet you Jinglelord.

reply to post by mydarkpassenger


Saving cats is an expensive passion, we have 6 inside (2 foster 4 keepers) and a colony of about 13 ferals we take care of.

I watch the cats often and am convinced not only of their intelligence but of their ability to feel and express emotion. The ferals I feel must be close to how cats started with people and I must say that with a yard full of nut trees, berries, fruits, and the summer garden we lose little to none of our harvest.

I'm always happy to see people who give a darn about the animals. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one.