MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) and Moose Jaw Humane Society (MJHS) are offering their perspectives on what happened with the situation involving homeless resident Michael Vernon and his emotional support dog.
Vernon contacted MooseJawToday.com several days after he gave up Maverick on Feb. 18. He said he agreed to hand over the dog temporarily to the humane society because the temperatures at the time were near -40 Celsius.
After that story ran, the police service and humane society reached out to share their version of the situation.
The police service’s Police and Crisis Team (PACT) assists residents who are suffering from mental illness, substance abuse and housing insecurities, Jay-D Haughton, communications manager, said by email. In some situations, PACT assists people in finding temporary shelter for their pets/animals that are exposed to harsh weather conditions.
Continuing, Haughton said members of the PACT unit conducted a well-being check on Vernon on Feb. 18 at a downtown business. While visiting with him, the members provided the man with several options about where he could keep his emotional support dog since the temperatures were “well below zero at the time.”
“One of the options was to have his pet be sheltered at the Moose Jaw Humane Society, as they have an emergency pet boarding program,” the communications manager added.
“Mr. Vernon voluntarily agreed to have his dog sheltered at the MJHS until the cold weather subsided. Mr. Vernon’s pet was then transported to the MJHS later that day.”
Meanwhile, Dana Haukaas, executive director of the humane society, said by email that the organization was not present when the PACT unit spoke with Vernon at a local business, nor did the two-member unit “surround” him as he first said. Instead, she said, the unit spoke to him and “kindly offered an option” to have Maverick stay with the Humane Society until the man secured a place for them to live together.
“Michael took the offer of his own accord (and) he was not pressured,” Haukaas added.
Vernon had said a veterinarian gave Maverick Gabapentin to calm it down because the situation had traumatized it. However, Haukaas alleged that the situation did not traumatize the dog. Instead, she said, the vet gave the animal that medication because it had never been kenneled or separated from Vernon before and was experiencing anxiety because of that.
Vernon also claimed that the humane society — in its role as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) — told him that it was “illegal to put an animal onto the street in this weather.”
However, Haukaas offered context to that claim.
“We never told him it was illegal to put an animal on the street,” she said. “We told him we knew that a landlord cannot evict a tenant when it is cold and we wondered if Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan (APSS) knew of any similar animal laws.
“The PACT (unit) and the MJHS were simply trying to help Michael and his dog,” Haukaas added.
Don Ferguson, chief animal protection officer and executive director of APSS, said by email that the organization was investigating “potential violations” under section 33 of The Animal Protection Act, 2018, as it related to interference with a service animal.
Asked if that investigation was into Capilano Court’s actions of evicting Vernon because of his service dog, Ferguson said, “That would be part of the ongoing investigation.”
Meanwhile, he said APSS was not investigating PACT’s apprehension of Maverick or its delivery to the humane society for care.
“We understand that both agencies acted in the best interest of the animal and that the owner consented to the SPCA’s involvement,” Ferguson added.
