Sixteen dogs have been seized from a property in Quesnel by the BC SPCA, and the mother-daughter duo will be familiar to many.
A July 4 press release from the SPCA says the dogs were being kept in crates too small for their size in a poorly ventilated area, with little or no access to water and with feces/urine-soaked matting.
Karin and Catherine Adams have been named as the individuals keeping the dogs.
The BC SPCA says the pair are known to them, and were convicted of animal cruelty in 2015 after an SPCA investigation for the state their dogs and horses were kept in near Houston. Their sentencing included a 20-year ban on owning animals.
Daughter Catherine Adams was also found guilty on two counts of animal cruelty in Hannah, Alberta in February of this year after a September 2015 animal seizure. Police and the SPCA there found a total of 17 birds, 25 dogs, and 11 horses on a rural property.
The details outline in that case are disturbing. One example given as evidence was in one particular dirty kennel there were two young female German Shepherds. Both were assessed with a BCS of 1 — a scale that measures a dog’s state as emaciated at that number. The kennel was described as barely big enough for one dog. The doctor who evaluated the dogs said both dogs had overgrown toenails. The dogs’ fur was matted with fecal material, which implied to the veterinarian that they had been in a dirty environment for a long period of time.
The Adams represented themselves. Karin chose not to testify and was not found guilty in the Alberta case. Catherine is due to be sentenced in Hannah on Aug. 22 after a pre-sentence report is prepared.
READ MORE: Trial set for Adams’ animal cruelty case
“It is extremely frustrating when we deal with repeat offenders, particularly those who breach the terms of their sentencing,” says Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer for the BC SPCA.
“However, we are pleased that these dogs are now safe and are getting the attention and care they need.”
Moriarty adds that the SPCA was alerted to the situation by calls from concerned members of the public, and their investigation went on from there.
“These individuals are very, very well known to us.”
She says that in the past, the Adams women have been caught with even more animals in their care. The pair has made concerted efforts to sell puppies in the past.
“They are notorious,” she said.
The dogs include breeds such as German shepherds, a Yorkshire terrier, a retriever, bull terriers, standard poodles, Portuguese water dogs, a Pekingese, corgi-border collie crosses and miniature pinschers.
The SPCA says they will be recommending new charges of animal cruelty, and the investigation continues.
The women will face charges for violating the conditions of their 2015 sentence.
The SPCA currently have the dogs in a number of different shelters throughout the Interior.
Moriarty says there is no evidence the dogs were stolen; however, if individuals’ dogs have been stolen and they believe their dog may be one of the 16, they can bring their dogs’ identification to the SPCA.
READ MORE: BC SPCA receives 400 reports of dogs in hot cars so far this year
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