Snowmobiling and winter tourism

On March 23, 2015, Susanne Donaldson of Morrisburg, Ontario, pleaded guilty to three counts of animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA Act.

 The charges included: Causing distress to an animal; Permitting distress to an animal; Failing to provide veterinary medical attention

 On September 3, 2014, the Ontario SPCA received a call concerning a sick dog and very young puppies.  An Ontario SPCA Investigator arrived at the Morrisburg address and was met by the owner Ms. Donaldson, who explained she had just returned from an animal hospital where her female dog had been euthanized.

Ms. Donaldson explained that her 3-year-old Boxer had given birth to 11 puppies five days earlier, and had not been eating or drinking for the past several days.

 Ms. Donaldson stated that the veterinarian had explained that her dog had a retained placenta and was in very poor condition. Of the 11 puppies, only seven were still alive. Three were stillborn and one died on Sunday, according to Ms. Donaldson.

 The remaining seven puppies were foul smelling with open and swollen wounds on their tails from elastics Ms. Donaldson had put on them several days earlier in an attempt to amputate the tails.  

Ms. Donaldson voluntarily surrendered the puppies to the Ontario SPCA. 

The deceased female Boxer was found to be in poor physical condition and was emaciated.

 The puppies were taken to a veterinary hospital, examined and provided with the care they required. 

Over the next several days, the puppies received 24-hour care in a foster home, including frequent veterinary care, however the puppies failed to thrive and unfortunately died.

 Susanne Donaldson was sentenced with a $500 fine, placed on probation for two years, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $120.68. 

Ms. Donaldson was also prohibited from owning animals for five years. Ontario SPCA officers were granted access to her property to ensure compliance with the prohibition order.  

“There is no excuse to let an animal go without proper veterinary medical attention,” says Steve Toy, Senior Inspector. “To report cruelty please call 310-SPCA or email your concern to cruelty@ospca.on.ca.”

[…]

Only two days after a Stampville home was completely destroyed by a fire sparked by a space heater, South Dundas firefighters were again battling a blaze ignited by a space heater.

Tuesday, January 22, just before 10 a.m., firefighters from the Iroquois and Williamsburg stations were called to the scene of a house fire at 11397 County Road 18.

The fire was called in by a neighbour and passerby who saw smoke coming from the home. 

No one was home at the time of the fire.

Chris McDonough, Fire Chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services, was the first to arrive at the scene.

“I kicked the door open and threw in a (Dry Sprinker Powder Aerosol agent) DSPA,” McDonough told The Leader. It landed very near the source of the fire and doused the flames somewhat until fire crews arrived minutes later to extinguish the blaze.

“A cat was able to survive the fire,” said McDonough. 

The residents returned home about half an hour after fire crews arrived a the scene.

The fire was caused by a space heater left running in the kitchen while the residents had gone shopping.

Firefighters remained on scene until about 1 p.m.

McDonough said that the major difficulty in fighting fires in the extreme cold is keeping the firefighters safe from the effects of the cold and the equipment functioning properly.

Although fire crews were able to save the structure, damage is still quite extensive, estimated at $60,000.

[…]

The South Branch Wind Opposition Group Inc. is being dissolved.

The motion for the voluntary dissolution of the South Branch Wind opposition group was tabled by Leslie Disheau and seconded by Bruce Albers and supported at an October 20 meeting.

The group made the decision because the SBWOG has served the purpose of their original mandate, which was to provide information about the South Branch industrial wind project to local government and citizens of the community.

Disheau thanked everyone for their support of the organization over the past three years. “It has been a very profound experience for this community and those individuals involved,” she said.

[…]