8 - North Shore News — Sunday, March 5, 2000 SPGA officers investigated com! From page Stone said the group intends to raise money for 3 genuine “no-kill” facility. Ina Feb. it letter to dis- trict council, Stone said, “Animal Advocates believes it is a serious contlict of interest for the SPCA to hold pound contracts... dispasing of excess dogs for money is not compatible with loving ani- mals.” The facility proposed by Friends of the Pound would be volunteer-run and provide a “puppy playground” and obedience training, tor dogs. Home visits, a screening process, and an insistence that all cats and dogs be neutered or spayed would also be con- ditions imposed on those hoping to adopt pets. “It is paramount to the success ofa truc no-kill pound,” Stone continues in her fetter, “thar pound staff not be allowed to decide which dogs are killed, but thar the society be allowed to take every dog not adopted alter a certain time period has passed.” Stone believes there is always an alternative to killing stray animals. She is also averse to circuses, rodeos, pet-stores, and the keeping of exotic species as pets. She has a ratt of supporters who share her philosophy. Many have been responsible for the theft of pets — particularly dogs —— who they believe are being mistreated by their owners. “I know lots of people who once took a dog and would do so again,” said Stone. “Most of them are middle class, midele- aged women who are perfectly law-abiding otherwise.” Formed in 1992, Animal Advocates refer to themselves as a - “no-kill rescue advocacy group.” They have an “abuse line” on ANIMAL Advocates’ Judy Stone says she gets calls from neighbours concerned about dogs. She says the callers are frus- trated by their attempts to get intervention from the SPCA. “Some of them have spent 10 years phoning the SPCA,” she said. A Coquitlam man whose dogs were stolen from his home recently said he believed Stone was connected to the theft. When 9 shown television footage of Stone, James Mansell said he recognized her as the woman who had been taking photographs of his dogs the week before their disappearance. Moansell’s two shepherd-lab crosses were taken from a pen in his back garden. Stone said she had gone to Coquitlam to take pho- tographs of the dogs foliow- ing a call from a concerned noaghbour. The photographs, along with videotaped footage and statements, are part of Stone’s ongoing documentation of animal suse. She said she did not know who had taken Mansell’s dogs, although she had received a message that they were “happy and well.” “Ifa dog disappears after I've been there, it’s not particular- iy surprising,” Stone said. “Quite often (complainants) are get- Ung ready to do something psychologically anyway. I often hear back from people saying, ‘It’s OK, the dog’s gone now.” When asked if she felt bad about dog owners whose pets had been “rescued,” Stone said that in many cases, these individuals “didn’t really like their dogs. Once the dog disappears, they don’t get another dog.” Stone tok! a News reporter in a March 1998 interview that Animal Advocates’ standard mode of operation was to “rescue dogs in the middle of the night and take them.” NEWS photo Mike Wakefield «Which people can leave messages about animals in trouble. Pets “rescued” by Animal Advocates and its supporters are put up for adoption in the community. >? Stone said she has received hundreds of phone calls a year from concerned neighbours. At the time, she said Animal Advocates had rescued “hun- dreds of dogs over the years,” and had never been charged with stealing a pet. West Vancouver Police, ar the request of Coquitlam RCMP, conducted a search of “a West Vancouver house” in connection West Van yet to determine funding From page bilitation process. That report is now. in the ‘hands of council, which must © .decide how much funding to ‘allocate toward the park’ and how soon.’ - : - Foreman expressed con- cern that council — currently in the midst ofa multi-million- -“dollar-renovation and expan- _sion of the central community -, centre — might nor regard the — - park as'a high-priority project. . ” However, municipal: parks and ‘recreation director’ Kevin Pike said that while the district ‘does : have: its-hands full —- anaging -over, a thousand acres™of. ‘district parkland - already it remains’ fully ‘ committed to the Lighthouse ‘Park project..." - . 2: Sc is (West Vancouver's) ncy’ Park,” he. said. “It’s rguably one of our five most . cherished picces of parkland in our! community. “People here’ it as their park and it’s very important ‘to the makeup of our® park: system in -West Mar ver. There’s. nothing quite like ir anywhere.” | “2° However, Pike* said that; - * because ..the park. is. federally owned, council would require “metre (60-foot) > fith built in 1912 and manned As well, five First Nations bands in the Lower Maintand have staked overlapping land claims to the park. First-time visitors to - Lighthouse Park — especially those not familiar with the West Coast landscape — will be struck by the dizzying height of Douglas firs and red cedars which battle for space atop the clotted canopy. The woodland, part of the Coast Mountain range that stretches some 900 miles north to. Alaska, is also home to a vari- ety of birds and animals, such as raccoons, river otters, sea. .-. ducks and owls. ~~. In the spring, it is a com- mon sight to see bald cagles soaring high over the tree tops ~and rocky promontories that “slice out into the sea. «The: .Point Atkinson Lighthouse stands sentry at the far end of the park, a 18.3- igh mono- until June of 1996, when the station was automated. Near the lighthouse one can. scamper up the massive granite deposits and on a clear day soak in a breathtaking vista thar stretches from Stanley Park out across Spanish Banks and west to Vancouver Island. Yet another secluded outcrop- ping tucked along the ‘trail affords an equally majestic view of the North Shore and the Lions Gate Bridge. It’s just these sorts of fea- tures thar Foreman wants to preserve, so thar future gener- ations will be able to appreci- ate them as well. “It’s places like this that attract the people...” he said. “It’s good tor the soul just to walk around in here.” District Coun. Soprovich said that word on funding could come anytime before May, the deadline for the district to pass its annual budger. He would like to sec trails - properly marked, the park renamed as a nature preserve and a marine “no take” zone established along its coast. “We're not saying that Bili. nobody should use the park, but we certainly want to make it such that, when used, the people are guided through the park properly and for the most part that we nor have. any major commercial interests in there. It’s for the enjoyment of all .people in the Lower Mainland. It deserves funding and it deserves the proper attention to preserve it,” Soprovich said. Foreman also hopes to see certain trails closed for regen- eration. “We can never recover it to what it was,” he said. “That will never happen, but at least we can close some of the trails and prevent further degradation of the park so that in (the future) people can look back ard say this is when the recovery process started.” jetmore Motors hn Famil Jetta Owned Since 1946 with Mansell’s accusation, but were unable to find the missing dogs. Set. Jim Almas of the West Vancouver Police Department (WVPD) said he was not aware of any previous incidents involv- ing pets going missing in the municipality. ‘ However, in April 1995, West Vancouver Police investigated the disappearance of a six-year-old border collie taken from a back yard near 21st Street and Gordon Avenue. The owner of the dog received a message on his answering machine from a woman stating the dog was OK and the owner shouldn't worry because the dog was “given to a good tamity.” Sud police officer Dave Bingham at the time, “Obviously somebody was thinking they were doing the right thing.” Coquitlam SPCA officers investigated compiaints about the care of Mansell’s dogs in September 1999, but were unable to find any evidence of the animals being mistreated. Rick Green, manager of field operations for the SPCA’s Vancouver region, said inspectors checked that animals were adequately housed, fed, and exercised — and were ina healthy condition. The SPCA has the power to seize pets when owners are clearly not taking care of them. Of the “thousands” of cases investigated by the SPCA, Green estimated that only about 1% were legitimate examples of cruelty to animals. Green believes that calls of complaint generally come from people with “legitimate care and concern” for neighbourhood pets. But, he added, people had differing, standards regarding the treatment of animals. “Some people think it’s cruel if the animal isn’t living inside the house and sleeping in the same bed as the owners,” he observed. “To them, an animal is more like a child than a pet.” 08 OR REFUSAL CHARGE? You only have 7 days. Did you know that you automatically receive a 90 day prohibition from driving for being picked up on 08 or Refusal charges, whether or not you have been convicted. . . You only have 7 days from the date that youare stopped by the Police to appeal your 90 day automatic ~~ driving prohibition. ac ~ You have the right to an experienced lawyer... One who can advise you of your options... Point out the potential problems... ce Help you deal with the significant penalties... - PHONE FOR A FREE CONSULTATION IMMEDIATELY. ARDAGH. HUNTER TURNER 986-4366 — AFTER HOURS 926-3181 /crimin! mantars ony) #300-1401 LonsDALe AVE. 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