N.S. woman acquitted on charges of animal cruelty; judge scolds SPCA

A woman in Kings County has been acquitted on charges of animal cruelty.

After the Nova Scotia SPCA seized 35 dogs from her Wolfville, N.S., business more than a year ago, Karin Robertson was charged with two counts of allowing an animal to be in distress, and another charge of disobeying orders.

A provincial court judge has ruled in Robertson's favour.

"I find she did not fail to comply as those directions did not apply to her operation," Ronda van der Hoek said this week in her decision.

"She was directed to provide continuous access to shelter if the dogs are kept outdoors, and I find there was no evidence presented by the Crown that I accept supporting a conclusion the dogs were outdoors."

Dozens of complaints

In 2019, Robertson's kennel business was impacted by dozens of online complaints against her. The complaints said her animals were in poor health and in distress from living in dirty conditions.

Because of those complaints, fewer people were buying puppies from her and at one point she had as many as 80 dogs.

SPCA inspectors visited Robertson's property and issued five orders against her and 44 directives that required compliance.

Van der Hoek took exception to those directives.

"It would be wise for the SPCA to consider the issue of due diligence during their investigations, rather than ignoring it until trial," said van der Hoek.

"If they had done so, they could have better understood the nature of her operation and not contributed to the problems Ms. Robertson faced."

The dogs were seized by the SPCA on Dec. 10, 2019 after enforcement officers found the animals living in "unsanitary conditions."

Appealed seizure

Jo-Anne Landsburg, the chief provincial inspector for the Nova Scotia SPCA, called the property a puppy mill. 

She described the dogs as timid, anxious and "very fearful of humans," with whom they've had little contact. 

Robertson appealed the seizure of her 35 Jack Russell terriers and border collies on Dec. 30, 2019, but it was upheld by the Animal Welfare Appeal Board.

At the time, the SPCA said it was one of the largest dog seizures in the province's history. More than 150 people showed up in support of the SPCA at an appeal hearing in Halifax.

But van der Hoek said Robertson underwent "herculean" efforts to find new homes for many of her dogs to try and lower the number of animals at her kennel.

She did this while she was dealing with cancer.

All 35 dogs adopted

"I accept the evidence of Ms. Robertson who I found to be both credible and reliable. She worked from approximately 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, caring for all the dogs and the growing puppies," said van der Hoek.

"She fed, watered, cleaned and re-homed over half her animals at an impressive speed and with care and deliberation."

Last January, SPCA officials said all 35 dogs had been adopted.