Stephanie Nash (left) of Wolseley and her mother, Jacqueline Nash of Calgary and formerly of Wolseley with a photo of her dog Arc Angel and pups before the dog and two pups were apprehended by an animal control officer and euthanized in Wolseley.Photograph by : Canwest News ServiceA Saskatchewan woman has been awarded $6,500 after a human rights tribunal recently found that the woman was discriminated against when town officials destroyed her dogs because she was on social assistance.
Jacqueline Nash of Wolseley, Sask., filed a complaint in 2006 claiming that officials in the town east of Regina, killed her three German Shepherd puppies because they assumed she couldn't pay the fees to retrieve them from an animal shelter.
Nash's puppies - Angel, Pinky and Stan - were not licensed or wearing tags when they went missing in June 2005. Nash spent days looking for them, and even contacted town officials - including the mayor - to find out where stray dogs would be held in the town. She claims her injuries were dismissed.
Nash was able to eventually contact an animal control officer who told her that a town official said not to make any attempts to call anyone about three puppies that were recently found - even though they seemed healthy and adoptable - and instead, to go ahead with destroying the dogs.
Nash was told her dogs had been impounded and killed without her consent.
Tribunal member Dirk Silversides said in his decision last week that Nash "received negative differential treatment" due to the town officials' ". . .assumption that she could not afford to pay for her pets - either the fines or kennel fees."
The hearing was also told that prior to the dogs going missing, the town had received a number of complaints about them running loose and barking in neighbours' yards. Nash had been fined $20 which she did not pay.
Nevertheless, the tribunal awarded Nash $5,000 for mental suffering and $1,500 for the value of the three dogs.
Wolseley, a town with a population of 800 people, is located about 100 kilometres east of Regina.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Servicehttp://www.thestarphoenix.com/Sask+woman+discriminated+when+town+killed+dogs/1042002/story.html
Jacqueline Nash of Wolseley, Sask., filed a complaint in 2006 claiming that officials in the town east of Regina, killed her three German Shepherd puppies because they assumed she couldn't pay the fees to retrieve them from an animal shelter.
Nash's puppies - Angel, Pinky and Stan - were not licensed or wearing tags when they went missing in June 2005. Nash spent days looking for them, and even contacted town officials - including the mayor - to find out where stray dogs would be held in the town. She claims her injuries were dismissed.
Nash was able to eventually contact an animal control officer who told her that a town official said not to make any attempts to call anyone about three puppies that were recently found - even though they seemed healthy and adoptable - and instead, to go ahead with destroying the dogs.
Nash was told her dogs had been impounded and killed without her consent.
Tribunal member Dirk Silversides said in his decision last week that Nash "received negative differential treatment" due to the town officials' ". . .assumption that she could not afford to pay for her pets - either the fines or kennel fees."
The hearing was also told that prior to the dogs going missing, the town had received a number of complaints about them running loose and barking in neighbours' yards. Nash had been fined $20 which she did not pay.
Nevertheless, the tribunal awarded Nash $5,000 for mental suffering and $1,500 for the value of the three dogs.
Wolseley, a town with a population of 800 people, is located about 100 kilometres east of Regina.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Servicehttp://www.thestarphoenix.com/Sask+woman+discriminated+when+town+killed+dogs/1042002/story.html
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