Bingley and her friends recently described the bill, which she received a few days ago, on a Facebook group. The tally of $15,797.98 includes wages for special constables and the cost of renting and fueling a van to take the animals from their home near New Glasgow to the Metro Shelter in Dartmouth, as well as the care and feeding of the puppies and the seven adult dogs since the seizure, with vaccinations and other vet treatment administered.
According to Bingley, in a letter delivered to her by the local Westville police, the SPCA set a deadline for payment of the massive sum by December 18. If she fails to pay in full by that date, the SPCA said it will assume ownership of all of the animals. And the costs listed only cover up to November 30, so they presumably continue to mount.
Meanwhile no charges have been laid against Bingley, and her lawyer and vet have been unable to get a reply to their inquiries about the situation. The SPCA shelter has reportedly placed all or most of the dogs to foster homes.
The letter did not cite any legal basis for such an ultimatum, or indeed why the urgency. But certainly, with children of her own to care for, Bingley is not likely to be in a position to fork over such a princely sum just weeks before Christmas.
UPDATE: Janice Bingley posted this scan of the letter on her Facebook profile:
The text of the letter is as follows:
November 20, 2009
Janice Bingley
1035 Lyon's Lane
Westville,
Pictou County,
Nova Scotia
Dear Ms. Bingley:
Further to the seizure of your animals on October 19, 2009, please find a statement of cost incurred by the Society in caring for the animals up to and including November 20, 2009.
These expenses are your responsibility and it is my expectation that by close of business December 18, 2009 you will either have made full payment or will have made alternate payment arrangements that are satisfactory to me.
In the event you do not make necessary arrangements for the payment, the animals will become the property of the SPCA.
Should you have any questions concerning the above noted matter, I can be reached at the Provincial Office at 835-4798. Mail should be sent to Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty, Suite 209, 1600 Bedford Highway, Bedford, N.S. B4A 1E8.
Yours truly,
The NOVA SCOTIA SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY
Roger Joyce
Chief Provincial Investigator
6 comments:
All kinds of questions come to mind when you read about this new action on the part of the SPCA aside from their urgency:
- From what I have read, this payment does not grant the owner the return of the animals seized, but merely halts the SPCA from taking over ownership. So what exactly does she get for ~$16k?
- The owner still waits for any charges to be laid as a result of the seizure -- and could wait for 6 months. In light of the "ongoing investigation," how can the SPCA assume ownership?
- If the ~$16k includes vaccinations for dogs already vaccinated -- something that a call to Janice's vet could substantiate -- why should she pay for work already done. Not to mention the potential dangers of over-vaccinating.
- Gas and wages??? C'mon... aren't these part of day-to-day operations?
Currently, the SPCA takes refuge from the scrutiny behind the statement that they "cannot comment on an ongoing investigation," but their actions in this case certainly bring some accountability questions to the surface.
Why did they not assess the situation and make the decision to "shelter in place" all the dogs. This would have put the burden on the owner to comply with any requirements regarding the health of the dogs -- and from what I have read, the biggest question seems to surround the skinny, nursing mother of 11 puppies. The SPCA could have monitored the situation on a daily basis saving the SPCA all these expenses and -- more humanely --saving the owner and her family all the criticisms and pain they have endured.
Did the SPCA really do the right thing in this case? They must think so, but I have yet to see that in this case. Was this action overkill? We shall see as things unfold.
Best guess this is a form of bullying with a deadline coinciding with the Danes pups being ready for adoption. The owner has claimed that since the beginning.
Getting back to what has really happened- the owner was cited under section 11(2) " a large number of dogs and pups" She had no prior communication with the chief provincial investator.
Section 12 of the ACT describes the poweres of the officer. They may seize any animal if the owner cannot be found or refuses to comply. The owner was home and helped. There are serious questions about whether this seizure was conducted properly.
The owner needs an injunction to prevent the SPCA from adopting her pets- in order to do this she must be charged. No charges yet and my best guess is that there will be no charges prior to Dec 18th...
Letters are being sent and people will notice what has happened here
It would to me that the easier thing the SPCA could do would be to charge the owner....it does seems that for every day that passes their case is less credible.
The Crown represents the NSSPCA IN AND OUT of court and they are the only nonprofit I know of that has the LUXURY of having the Crown at their every whim.
The NSSPCA operate with two tax numbers, one provincially and the other federally. They are always politically connected to one or the other government of the day. They operate through a private statute which very few people know about which ultimately allows them to get away with breaking the law.
They also have the inside track covered with the Provincial Department of Justice because Roger Joyce's wife is employed at the Department of Justice and Judith Gass was and I think still is connected to the head attorney at the justice department who pushes through warrants even when they are not legitimate.
I am a fomer SPCA special constable. I left years ago, but never ever have they ever had the authority to make those statements. They are misleading the public in my opinion. The only way such a statement could be official is if the courts ordered it.
If I was in the position of the person who received this letter I would ask through a lawyers letter which might cost twenty five dollars on whose authority did that letter become law.
I can tell you from my own experence and ten years of working for the NSSPCA that these are scare tactics. The last chief provincial investigator before Roger had trouble getting permission to sell off cows and horses even after charges were laid.
Dear Santa
This is our Christmas wish....
Willi hates the cold; since her jacket is here, please bring her a new one.
Bear hates to lie on the bare floor, please bring her a pillow.
Max loves his rawhide. Please find him the biggest bone possible.
Mojo drags a teddy bear; find him a special one – really soft as that is his favorite.
Sable loves apples – they are her favorite treat. Please bring her a bag full.
Blue loves squeaky toys. Please bring her a variety as she likes to choose.
Princess loves to chew. Please bring her something safe to chew on.
Shadow hates to be alone. Please give her a friend; no matter if its two legged or four, so she’ll never be alone.
We don’t know the puppies but I am sure they are special. Please bring them some puppy treats.
Please be sure to leave them Christmas dinner; turkey and potatoes... not the scraps.
Please take care of our family...
Tell them that we love them...
Tell them that we miss them...
Tell them that we will never give up...
To the tune of “We Three Kings”
We the dogs of Westville are;
Scattered about near and afar,
A loving family we are no more,
Following yonder star.
Refrain
O star of wonder, star of light,
How can they think this is right,
Deeply hurting, sadly crying ,
Late into the night.
Lived in a home in a Westville town
Loved by kids and never a frown,
Gone forever, ceasing never,
Forever our hearts be down.
Refrain
Unnecessary to say the least;
Taking us all so far away;
Selling, adopting, family members,
Destroying what we had.
Refrain
We don’t know why, they will not tell us
Please adopt; let donations flow;
Sorrowing, sighing, crying, dying,
Forever without our own..
Refrain
We the dogs of Westville are;
Scattered about near and afar,
A loving family we are no more,
Following yonder star.
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