A city woman with mental health problems who underfed her dog for months until it starved to death, has been handed an $8,000 fine.
Jennifer Clayton, 45, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge under the Animal Protection Act of allowing an animal to be in distress.
She had been charged with a criminal offence of animal cruelty,
But Crown prosecutor Gord Haight told provincial court Judge Mike Dinkel he agreed to take a plea to the charge under the provincial act, sparing Clayton a criminal conviction, because of a psychiatric report detailing the woman’s health issues.
Haight said he reviewed the report and spoke to Dr. Zahinoor Ismail before determining a criminal charge was not appropriate.
“That convinced me to allow Ms. Clayton to enter a plea to a provincial offence,” he said, of the civilian employee of the Calgary Police Service.
Haight said the doctor indicated Clayton, who was suffering from major depression, was in no shape to even care for her daughter, who was in the custody of the girl’s father.
“He stated quite frankly he would have had grave concerns (for the girl),” Haight told Dinkel.
The prosecutor said Clayton was charged after bringing her mixed-breed dog Rugby to a veterinary clinic on May 23, 2013.
“The dog was deceased,” Haight said, in detailing the case against Clayton.
“The staff … contacted the humane society because the dog seemed to be emaciated,” he said.
A necropsy was later done to determine how the animal died.
“The cause of death was determined to be starvation,” said Haight.
The doctor who performed the necropsy “estimated it would take four months for the dog to get to this state.”
Defence counsel Hersh Wolch said Clayton, who remains on the CPS payroll, but is on medical leave, was diagnosed with a major depressive disorder at the time.
“She couldn’t care for herself,” Wolch said.
