The accused pleaded guilty at the beginning of trial to one count of wounding or maiming an animal contrary to the Criminal Code. The accused’s partner came home to find the drywall (in the home that she shared with the accused and their pets) dented in three places in the shape of a cat. The accused had thrown Khonsu (their cat) against the wall three times leaving blood on the drywall around the second two dents. Khonsu was lying nearby, with blood covering his head and ears. The cat was unconscious and not moving. The accused was passed out in a chair nearby. The partner took the cat to the veterinarian who found multiple injuries including a fractured tooth, skull and leg. Surgery was required.
The accused went to trial on a number of domestic violence counts and a second wounding or maiming an animal, involving a second cat, Aradia. The following facts were testified to by the complainant but may or may not be the findings of fact of the judge as the transcript of that day is missing. With respect to the count involving Aradia, she jumped on the counter and knocked things off during the night. The accused found the cat and punished her by grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and holding her under the running water from the sink faucet for 30 seconds. She could not breathe and her eyes were bugging out of her head. The accused then pushed the cat on to the cement counter and threw her 20 feet to the couch. She was unconscious at this point but came to and ran behind the couch. The female owner went to see if Aradia was okay and found she couldn’t move her right front leg. They took her to the vet but made up a story as to how she received her injuries. She had surgery on the leg to repair the break and it took three to four months to heal.
The accused was convicted on one count of wounding or maiming an animal contrary to the Criminal Code. He was acquitted of all of the domestic violence related counts. It appears that the count involving Khonsu was amended to include Aradia midway through trial and the accused pleaded guilty to those facts as well.
The transcript of the second day of trial is missing so there is no information on what the issues were at trial and what findings of facts were made by the Judge.