Editors note: This article contains highly disturbing details of animal neglect. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
NANAIMO — A case of puppy breeding gone horribly wrong was outlined during a graphic sentencing hearing in Nanaimo.
Following a high-profile seizure of 39 dogs and five cats from a mid-Island area home last November, Kathleen Rimmer, 60, of Mudge Island pleaded guilty to an animal neglect charge and was sentenced in Nanaimo provincial court on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
She received a $5,000 fine and a 10-year ban from owning or caring for animals as part of a jointly submitted sentencing recommendation.
Crown counsel Joanna Simpson told court the BCSPCA visited Rimmer’s property on the small island in mid-August 2023 following a complaint.
Familiar with previous local concerns regarding the property’s unsanitary condition, a special SPCA constable noted a strong odour coming from the property.
Described on-site as “irate and argumentative” Rimmer agreed to a follow-up visit inside her home, in which court heard this led to subsequent communication challenges with Rimmer.
A second attempt in mid-September 2023 by the BCSPCA accompanied by the RCMP to follow through on the previously agreed upon site visit was successful.
Over 20 dogs were seen in the filthy, feces-covered home with no available water.
A notice of distress was issued to Rimmer, requesting water, proper ventilation and sanitary living conditions established for the animals.
More follow-up communication barriers ensued, and Rimmer was informed of a second notice of distress.
On Nov. 22, the BCSPCA received a call from the RCMP regarding more complaints emanating from Rimmer’s home, including some of her dogs running loose throughout Mudge Island.
Some local residents were concerned that Rimmer was deceased.
As a result, a police welfare check of Rimmer was made that day, Simpson informed the court.
“They were only able to stay inside for 30 seconds at a time due to the overpowering foul smell. Officers had to wear hazmat suits and respiratory masks with filter cartridges. The main living room area of the floor was covered in feces that had been compacted into the floor from animals constantly walking on it.”
No water or food was visible in the home, which had at least 25 dogs contained inside at the time with feces covering the floors and stairs.
Rimmer was unable to provide an accurate number of how many dogs were inside her home, missing or loose on the island.
She agreed to surrender five dogs.
As police and SPCA officers retrieved crates from the dock prior to boating the distressed animals to Nanaimo, local residents reported several small dogs were loose on the island.
Police and the SPCA teamed up to retrieve more than 40 distressed animals from a Mudge Island property last November. (BCPSCA)The residents helped gather 10 small dogs, all of which had the same odour from Rimmer’s home, and the animals were boated away for veterinary care.
The following day, armed with a search warrant under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, several more dogs, including two litters of puppies, were seized.
Rimmer was ordered to stay outside the home during the seizure.
“It was explained to Ms. Rimmer that conditions in the dwelling are extremely poor, unsanitary and completely lacked ventilation and that all of the animals had to be removed to prevent their further distress,” Simpson relayed as she explained the facts of the case.
Special ventilation masks also had to be worn during the search warrant.
Simpson noted ammonia levels inside the home were far beyond levels deemed acceptable by WorkSafeBC.
During the seizure, a man contracted by Rimmer to breed puppies on his behalf severed their agreement over the phone.
A veterinarian reported a majority of the animals were malnourished and matted with urine and feces.
The vet stated all the animals were distressed and suffering from serious neglect.
“…including not providing enough food, maintaining them in a filthy environment and not providing adequate grooming, dental or veterinary care.”
The animal doctor concluded the thin stature and unkempt appearance of the dogs would have been obvious to the average person.
Most of the dogs were malnourished and all of them were distressed and severely neglected, a vet concluded. (BCSPCA)Rimmer’s lawyer Zoe Arghandewal told the court her client takes full responsibility for her actions.
She said Rimmer suffers from several mental health issues, is on disability and is in severe debt.
Rimmer, who attended the hearing through a virtual video feed, declined to comment.
Judge Tamara Hodge said Rimmer’s position of trust, the number of animals under her control, and the level of their neglect were all highly aggravating factors.
“It needs to be brought home that our communities and the court system will not condone and will hold people responsible who house dogs like this and breed them in these circumstances causing them distress,” judge Hodge said.
The judge ordered Rimmer to pay the $5,000 fine within 18 months, as opposed to the seven years the offender’s lawyer requested.
The maximum penalty Rimmer faced for the charge of causing an animal to continue to be in distress was two years in jail, a $75,000 fine, or both.
Mercy was less than a year old when she and over 40 other dogs and cats were rescued from what the SPCA called “shockingly unsanitary conditions’ in a Mudge Island home. (Submitted)Mercy, a one-year-old dog, was adopted by a family two weeks after being rescued from the home in Nov. 2023.
Mercy’s newly adopted family reports she is doing well in her new environment, although they say Mercy still showing residual effects of not being properly socialized for the first 8 months of her life.
Mercy has trouble trusting humans, is very picky about the food she eats, and suffers from separation anxiety when away from her owner.
Her family is working hard to get Mercy socialized by spending time with their cat Sadie, another adopted rescue animal.
You can follow Mercy and Sadies journey here on their Facebook page.
— With files from Jordan Davidson.
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Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes
