Warning: The following article is disturbing.

 

Two activists from Calgary travelled to Didsbury on Saturday October 14th, to learn more about the recent dog torture case. They have provided the following information uncovered through various third parties:

• The dog's name was Daisy Duke.

• Before Daisy Duke was dragged behind the vehicle, she was beaten with a shovel and run over. She had her legs bound, and a plastic bag was put over her head.

• The rope around her neck was so tight her eyes popped out their sockets.

• Daisy's back and neck were broken, her head gashed and fractured, and she was covered in blood. She was found alive and choking on her own blood in the plastic bag. She was still able to lift her head when the vet, Andy Mencarelli, arrived at the scene. The police followed Daisy Duke's trail of blood 3 blocks back to the Haskett house.

• Her broken body has not yet been cremated; she lays in wait at the Krebs Vet clinic in Didsbury. UPDATE: The dog has now been cremated and is still at the Krebs Vet Clinic.

• Her original "owner" had moved to Calgary and could not find a place that took dogs so he left her with his mom Angela and 3 brothers. His brother Daniel Charles Haskett (19) was one of the men that did this to her and has been charged. Since this happened, Daniel has been disowned by his brother.

• The Haskett family still have a dog living with them in Didsbury - Diesel, a Bichon cross. Both the RCMP and the Alberta SPCA have deemed the environment is safe for Diesel so she will not be removed from the Haskett home.
  

The activists in Calgary are determined to have a demonstration outside the Didsbury courthouse when the boys have their first appearance November 6th and anytime thereafter.

Voice for Animals Humane Society will continue to post information on this site regarding this case. We are currently in the process of organizing a trip to Didsbury for the court case, so if you want to join the trip, please make sure you return to the site for more details.

In the meantime, please contact your MP's and Stephen Harper's office and keep this going until the laws are changed. The laws are frustrating, but things need to be made better for animals. The laws in Canada haven't been updated since the 1800's. Currently, the most Haskett will get is 6 months in jail and a $2000 fine. The other boy will get even less than that.

For the Animals, especially Daisy Duke...

 

Read the original article here.

 

News and Information About This Issue: 

December 2007 - Haskett's trial is delayed again.  The next court date is April 21, 2008.  Please visit back to the site closer to this date to find out about a possible protest.

November 2007 - Things are really dragging out. The two court dates of November 5th and 26th have come and gone without any real progress. Daniel Haskett has a new lawyer who has asked for time to get acquainted with the case. The next court date is Dec. 10th. Again, this is probably just to set a court date for the actual sentencing of Daniel Haskett. V4A isn't planning on going to Didsbury again until the actual date for Haskett's sentencing has been set.

October 17, 2007 - Voice for Animals members arrived in Didsbury at about 9:00 pm. Compassion in Action from Calgary and a number of individuals from Didsbury and surrounding area were already there with pickets a display ribbons for Daisy Duke and flowers. There was also a large contingent of every type of media. Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, which has been very active in promoting Bill C-373 (new anti-cruelty legislation) sent their CEO Steve Carroll.

The cout room was filled to the rafters, everyone expecting this to be the end of this sorrowful saga, with Daniel Haskett receiving as stiff a sentence as the law allows. It wasn't to be. Haskett's lawyer, Takada, immediately announced that he was withdrawing from the case. His reason was that some facts in the psycologocal report differed from the Statement of Facts already signed by Haskett. This left Haskett without council and the judge decided not to proceed. Haskett was given time to find another lawyer with the next court appearence on November 5th to decide how to proceed and to set another date.

Although most activists and concerned citizens were disappointed at yet another delay there was also the feeling that it may be a silver lining. The media has been extremely interested in this case with the result that it just isn't going away like so many other incidents. Every time Haskett appears in court, we will be there with our message that the justice system has to take animal cruelty seriously and that the government must pass Bill C-373.

August 1, 2007 - Expecting closure, V4A was present at the Didsbury courthouse to hear the sentencing of Daniel Haskett, the older of the two accused boys. Because Daniel had not completed certain documents, the trial had to be pushed to October. Below are some pictures of V4A and other activists making sure that Daisy Duke was represented.

UPDATE: The May 23rd, 2007 Daisy Duke Trial.

UPDATE: The May 10th, 2007 Daisy Duke trial.

January 13, 2007: On Saturday January 13th, a ceremony was held to hand over more than 65,000 signatures on a petition trying to bring in stronger animal welfare laws.

Follow this link to read a transcript of the interview.

 

January 6, 2007: Tamara wrote to let us all know that so far there are 65,871 signatures counted for the anti-cruelty innitiative which seeks to overthrow Bill S-213 in order that a Bill similar to the Liberal introduced Bill C-50 can be brought back.

MP, Myron Thompson will be coming to Didsbury Saturday January 13th at 2:00pm to accept the petitions. This event will be held at the Krebs Vet clinic. The address is 2601 - 16 St, Didsbury, AB.

December 10, 2006: Almost 45,388 people have signed the petition.

November 24, 2006: Read the Calgary Herald article about the excuse that Haskett's lawyer plans to put forward regarding his client's actions. Link.

November 22, 2006: There was a court appearance by Haskett's lawyer today, but Haskett was nowhere in site. Haskett is due to appear in court again on December 11th, 2006. Haskett's lawyer is arguing that his client had little to do with the crime.

The unnamed boy in the case is due to appear in court December 7th, 2006. Voice for Animals has tentatively reset the date for the protest to the 7th. Please keep an eye on the site for updates on this protest.

November 6, 2006: Voice for Animals Humane Society protested outside of the Didsbury courthouse while the boys involved in the brutal torture and killing of Daisy Duke had their day in court. Read here to find out what happened.

Read the a newspaper article on the November 7th protest.