Woman’s cruelty to animals leads to five-year ban on owning pets

Purchasing pet food won’t be high on Robyn Ashley St. Laurent’s shopping list for a while after a provincial court judge banned her from owning animals due to her cruel treatment of them.

Appearing in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on March 21, St. Laurent, from Moose Jaw, pleaded guilty to one count under section 4(2) of The Animal Protection Act, 2018, which says that “(no) person responsible for an animal shall cause or permit the animal to be or to continue to be in distress.”

Judge Brian Hendrickson imposed a fine of $1,000 and gave St. Laurent six months to pay. She is also prohibited from owning, having custody of, controlling, or residing with animals for the next five years, while she must allow access to her premises by police or any peace officer. If found with animals, she must forfeit them.

St. Laurent could have received a stiffer sentence based on the five Criminal Code charges levied against her. However, the Crown stayed those charges, including two that dealt with injuring, damaging or causing pain to animals.

The offences occurred between July 16 and Oct. 24, 2019, based on an animal protection officer’s investigation into whether St. Laurent and co-accused Dylan Gellert were engaging in cruelty to animals at a residence on Montgomery Street West, explained Crown prosecutor Rob Parker.

Gellert is scheduled to appear in provincial court on Feb. 29 for his role in this situation.

Moose Jaw police assisted the animal protection officer by executing a search warrant at the residence on July 16, where they found — and removed — 15 cats and two dogs in distress, he continued.

“The animal protection officer states that it was difficult to move around in the house due to debris strewn about. A number of feces and urine were seen throughout the residence. Ammonia tests were conducted, which resulted in a high reading presenting health concerns for humans and animals,” Parker said, adding officers were also concerned about malnutrition since there was little water or food.

The animal protection officer returned on Aug. 26, 2019, and found two cats in distress, so he left St. Laurent with an order to remove the cats and provide a clean environment. The officer returned on Sept. 2 and found no live animals in the home.

However, on Oct. 24, police again assisted the animal protection officer with another search warrant and found — and removed — two cats from the home.

“(The animal protection officer) and his team had to wear protective suits and masks due to health and safety concerns of ammonia levels and the unsanitary condition of the residence,” Parker said, adding animal feces and urine were still seen while food and water were not.

St. Laurent is facing some “dire personal circumstances” since she is sleeping in her car after losing her home, said defence lawyer Adam Fritzler. Normally a financial penalty in this matter would be higher, but there was a “delicate balancing act” in determining what she could afford to pay.

“This is a situation where these two were in a relationship, insuring the residence, accommodations and caring for these animals,” he added. “There were periods of time … where Ms. St. Laurent was in hospital for extended periods of time, but certainly, she … is accepting responsibility for her part in the activity.”

Judge Hendrickson accepted the joint submission and imposed the financial penalty on St. Laurent.