Yukon kennel owner says she euthanized 10 dogs to comply with court-ordered surrender

The Yukon kennel owner at the centreof a controversial court case says she has euthanized 10 of her dogs in order to comply with a court order.

Shelley Cuthbertof Tagish, Yukon, was ordered by a Yukon Supreme Court justice last fall to shut down her kennel because it was a disturbance to her neighbours. She must get rid of all but two of her more than 50 dogs.

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Cuthbert had been ordered to surrender 10 dogs to the Yukon government's Animal Health Unit each month, starting Feb. 15 and continuing until May.

It was intended that staff would work with the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter and the Dawson City Humane Society to find new homes for the animals, but Cuthbert said many of her dogs had behavioural issuesand would never be successfully adopted.

She had been trying to apply for a variance of the order that would allow her to "relocate" the animals in temporary shelters or homes, rather than surrendering them entirely.

She is representing herself in court, and said she was not fully clear on the rules and timelines required to apply for a variance. She was given a two-week extension to file the proper paperwork.

Cuthbert said she hoped to be able to wait for the decision on the variance, but was instead "backed into a corner" and felt forced to comply with the order to surrender 10 dogs on Feb. 15.

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"You have no idea what I'm going through right now," she said.

"This is not an easy process."

'Euthanized at home in my arms'

Cuthbert told CBC she called the Animal Health Unit on Thursday, and surrendered 10 dogs into their custody. She said some of the dogs in question had a history of biting and behavioural issues, and were "automatically a liability."

Others were between 12 and 14 years old, she said, and would be "next to impossible to adopt."

Cuthbert said she was upfront with the Animal Health Unit. She knew the dogs would be deemed unadoptable and would therefore be euthanized.

She asked for the procedure to be carried out by her own vet, and said the Animal Health Unit was supportive.

"The dogs were euthanized at home in my arms," said Cuthbert.

Health Unit says it doesn't force euthanizations

Graham Lang, the lawyer for Cuthbert's neighbours, said he doesn't fully understand her approach. He said if he were her, he would have just surrendered the dogs that had a chance of being rehomed.

"She waited until 11:59 p.m. on the day of an effective court order to take any action, and then chose to take the most drastic action she possibly could in order to try and paint the plaintiffs here as the bad guys," he said.

"That's not the case they're just people who want to sleep."

Lang said he is still trying to confirm Cuthbert has complied with the order, and he may have to apply to the court for a new order to get access to that information.

The CBC asked the Animal Health Unit to confirm that 10 dogs from the Cuthbert property were euthanized because they were deemed unadoptable, but a spokesperson said the unit cannot comment on specific cases for reasons of confidentiality.

Dr. Mary Vanderkop, chief veterinary officer for the Yukon government, insisted the unit "does not force anyone to euthanize an animal."

"The owners sign over ownership at the time that we agree to take the dog, and at that point, we consider the information they provide to us in terms of making a determination of what will happen with that dog," she said.

"So certainly if someone identifies to us that the dog is a risk to public safety, that the dog has bitten other dogs, or has bitten people or threatened them, and is aggressive in a way that wouldn't be manageable, that dictates the course for that dog."

According to Vanderkop, "the vast majority of these situations are dogs that simply are more than people can handle."