Anderson Joe will receive a suspended sentence in the death of Teddy the dog on Vancouver Island.

Joe had pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal and failing to provide the necessities of life for an animal on March 18 and was in the Duncan courthouse on Nov. 18 to receive his sentence from Judge Mayland McKimm.

Joe will be on probation for three months in which McKimm instructed that he must keep the peace and be on good behaviour during that time.

He also received a lifetime ban on owning any type of animals or live in a home where animals reside.

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Defence lawyer Michael Ritzker asked that Joe be given a conditional discharge to prevent him from receiving a criminal record for the first time, but while McKimm acknowledged that Joe has had a hard life and has cognitive disabilities, he said he has a responsibility to send a strong message to society that mistreating animals is not acceptable.

鈥淚 have to take a strong public position on animal abuse,鈥� McKimm said.

鈥淢any cases call out for jail sentences, but this is not one of them. Mr. Joe can apply for a pardon at the end of his three month probation and that is a three-year process.鈥�

Joe could have faced a maximum penalty of up to 18 months in prison, a $10,000 fine on top of the lifetime ban on owning animals.

In one of the most profoundly shocking and disturbing cases of abuse the BC SPCA has ever witnessed, special constables seized Teddy in critical distress from Anderson鈥檚 property on Feb. 16, 2018.

Meanwhile, Melissa Tooshley, who had pleaded guilty to a single charge of failing to provide the necessities of life for an animal in the same case earlier in the trial, has withdrawn her guilty plea and will be in the Duncan court house on Nov. 21.

robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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