Sherbrooke man decapitates dog, throws cat in river

December 20, 2011

A young Sherbrooke man will likely face legal recourse after he was found to have decapitated a dog and thrown a cat in the Saint-Francois River.
The Estrie Animal Protection Society (SPA) released a press release Tuesday saying they would appear before a crown prosecutor to try and bring charges against a 21-year-old for acts of animal cruelty.
“This consists of two horrible acts of cruelty,” said Cathy Bergeron, spokesperson of the SPA, in a statement. “Rarely have we seen such stories at the Estrie SPA. In order to try and prevent recurrence, the SPA will ask the prosecutor that this individual be formally prohibited to have pets until his trial.”
The charges stem from multiple incidents that took place over the last few weeks. After a complaint was brought to the attention of the SPA on Dec. 12, inspectors visited an address where they found the scalped head of a dog in a garbage can outside.
After this gruesome discovery, the inspectors went to a second address, the home of the suspect, where they found a knife with hair and blood on it, as well as animal collars.
The DNA from these traces will be tested to see if they match the head found in the garbage can.
A second incident occurred on the night of Dec. 18, when the man was approached by officers of the Sherbrooke Police Service at a store. When he saw the officers, the suspect, who was carrying a cat in his arms, fled. As the police pursued him the man threw the cat into the freezing cold water of the Saint-Francois River.
The SPS will bring a second case against him as a result of this action.
The Criminal Code’s article 445.1 A stipulates that anyone who voluntarily and without legitimate excuse kills, mutilates, injures, poisons or cripples dogs, birds or animals that are not bestial is committing a criminal act that could result in up to five years in prison.
“Too many cases of mistreatment and cruelty to animals still exist,” Bergeron said, asking that any witness to such acts should go to the SPA and allow them to be “the voice of those who cannot speak,” the victimized animals.