Innisfail RCMP in Alberta have charged Karin Adams in relation to the seizure of eight dogs from a room at the Bluebird hotel on July 17.
Adams, 46, is being charged with mischief, eight counts of failure to obtain a dog license, driving a motor vehicle without a valid licence, trespassing and harbouring more than three dogs.
If the name seems familiar, its because it has appeared several times for animal cruelty-related stories before. The first case was in Houston, where dogs and horses were seized in August 2014 from Karin and her daughter Catherine Adams. They were convicted in 2015 and banned from owning animals for 20 years in B.C.
That didn’t stop them from possessing animals.
This latest arrest is coming only weeks after the BC SPCA seized 16 dogs who were being cared for by the Adams from a property in Quesnel.
The dogs were being kept in crates too small for their size in a poorly ventilated area, with little or no access to water and with feces/urine-soaked matting.
Daughter Catherine was convicted of animal cruelty in Hannah, Alberta in February of this year after an SPCA seizure in September 2015. She is due to be sentenced in Hannah on Aug. 22 after a pre-sentence report is prepared..
Police and the SPCA there found a total of 17 birds, 25 dogs, and 11 horses on a rural property.
The details outline in that case are disturbing. One example given as evidence was in one particular dirty kennel there were two young female German Shepherds. Both were assessed with a BCS of 1 — a scale that measures a dog’s state as emaciated at that number. The kennel was described as barely big enough for one dog. The doctor who evaluated the dogs said both dogs had overgrown toenails. The dogs’ fur was matted with fecal material, which implied to the veterinarian that they had been in a dirty environment for a long period of time.
The Adams represented themselves. Karin chose not to testify and was not found guilty in the Hannah case.
Karin Adams has been released from custody by Innisfail RCMP with multiple conditions, including a prohibition on owning, having the custody or control of or residing in the same premises of any animal.
7 of 8 dogs lawfully owned
According to an RCMP press release, the seized dogs have been turned over to Klassic Kennels for proper care and health examination.
The press release says: “Seven of the eight dogs have been determined to have been lawfully owned by Adams as she either purchased the dogs on private sale or were given the dogs by previous owners.”
They encourage anyone looking to re-home a pet to conduct a thorough background check prior to giving away their animal.