The dogs will go, says Yukon kennel owner as court battle escalates

Shelley Cuthbert, the Yukon woman ordered to close her rescue kennel, says it won't be necessary to have authorities remove what she says aremore than forty dogs from her property.

"All the dogs will be gone by Monday, and that includes me," Cuthbert said via phone in Yukon Supreme Court yesterday.

The hearing was the latest in a years-long legal saga, and was the beginning of a process that could have her found in contempt of court.

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Cuthbert was ordered last fall to get rid of all but two dogs after her neighbours successfully sued for an injunction, saying the dozens of dogs on her property were a nuisance.

Cuthbert's appeal of that order was dismissed last month.

Now, her neighbours say she has failed to comply with the injunction, or with a later order to surrender 10 dogs each month to territorial authorities. Cuthbert herself has said she still has at least 40 dogs on the property.

She has consistently argued she can't surrender the dogs to shelters or the territory's Animal Health Unit (AHU), because the dogs have behavioural issues and will be euthanized.

"I'm the one that's going to remove them," she said in court yesterday.

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'We're backed into a corner'

The hearing significantly ramped up the stakes for Cuthbert.

"Today sets the table for more drastic actions," said Graham Lang, the lawyer representing Cuthbert's neighbours.

Lang laid out two options for Cuthbert.

The first was to let staff from the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter and the AHU remove animals from her property next Wednesday morning, with RCMP officers on hand to keep the peace.

If she did not agree to cooperate, Lang told the court he would pursue a contempt of court ruling and ask that Cuthbert be imprisoned, so they could evaluate the situation on her property and remove the dogs themselves.

Lang said Cuthbert has had eight months, and many chances, to cooperate on her own.

"We're backed into a corner," he said. "It should come as no surprise to her that we're here."

Cuthbert's neighbours, as well as representatives for the RCMP and the AHU were all in court.
Faced with those two options, Cuthbert offered a third.

She told the court she is already in the process of building kennels somewhere else, and that she and all the dogs will be gone from the Tagish Estates property by Monday.

Justice Leigh Gower pressed the gravity of the situation multiple times.

"I want you to understand that you're in jeopardy of being found in contempt of court if there are any dogs left on the property as of Tuesday," he said. "Do you understand?"

Cuthbert said she understood.

Speaking outside after court, Lang said he wasn't expecting Cuthbert's announcement.

"They are, if true, great results. It's a real win-win for the community of Tagish, and we don't have to do anything drastic in removing the dogs. But the proof is in the pudding."

The matter was adjourned until Tuesday afternoon, when Lang will report back to court on whether Cuthbert removed the dogs, or whether he will be applying to have her found in contempt, and imprisoned.