The dog that was recorded on video being abused by its owner, is seen here being rescued by Animal Protective Services. (Facebook)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Prince Albert animal cruelty case results in $500 fine

Feb 9, 2023 | 5:00 PM

A man who repeatedly punched and kicked a pitbull, before hanging the animal up in the air by its collar and slamming it to the ground, has received a $500 fine.

Ryan S. McAuley, 46, was sentenced Thursday morning at Prince Albert Provincial Court. A guilty plea was entered to permitting unnecessary pain to a canine, under sect. 445.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

The incident happened on May 31, 2022, and was captured on video, which in turn was shared hundreds of times on social media.

While the abuse to the dog is on its own difficult to watch, two young children can also be seen standing nearby and did not intervene.

A screen capture from the original video. (Facebook)

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The dog was seized the same day by Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan and taken to a veterinarian for care.

Defence lawyer Rebecca Crookshanks noted despite the obvious pain and suffering incurred, the dog showed no signs of physical injury.

As part of his sentence, McAuley cannot own or possess an animal for a period of two years, and that includes being in a residence where an animal is present.

In addition to the animal cruelty charge, McAuley also entered guilty pleas related to resisting arrest and breach of a court order not to attend a house.

On Jan. 14, police were called to a residence for a disturbance of a domestic nature and McAuley failed to comply with a police order, going so far as to walk past the officer and attempt to flee.

Roughly ten days later, McAuley returned to the same house and was arrested. He’s been in custody since Jan. 26.

For the pleas to resisting arrest and breach, McAuley received an additional $200 in fines.

When given the opportunity to comment, McAuley offered no explanation for his actions.

“She said it pretty good,” he said, referring to his lawyer.

At the time of the animal cruelty complaint, Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan executive director Don Ferguson told paNOW they were troubled by the lack of response by the children in the video, so had alerted child protective services to the situation.

“We know that when animals are at risk, people are at risk and vice versa. We refer to it as the violence link,” Ferguson explained.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell