The following is an article sent in by Compassion in Action from the Calgary Herald regarding the story that Haskett's lawyer is going to present as an excuse for his client's actions: 

Publication: Calgary Herald; Date: 2006 Nov 23; Section: City & Region; Page Number: B8

COURT

Teens accidentally ran over animal, he contends

Emma Poole, Calgary Herald

DIDSBURY

It was panic - not deliberate cruelty - that prompted two Didsbury teens to inflict near-fatal injuries on a family dog, a defence lawyer representing one of the accused said Wednesday.

The teens were trying to put the pet out of its misery after one of them accidentally ran over it, Mark Takada said outside court after a brief appearance on the matter.

"A lot of people just thought these are sadistic brutes. That’s not what happened at all," he said. "It’s not as simple as a lot of people make it out to be.

"They weren’t trying to be cruel to the animal. They panicked after they hit the animal and then they took a bunch of inept steps to put the animal down."

Takada’s client, Daniel Charles Haskett, 19, and his then 17-year-old friend, are facing a number of animal cruelty charges, including injuring or endangering an animal and causing unnecessary suffering. The younger teen can’t be named due to his age at the time of the incident. Daisy Duke, a border collie-Lab, had to be euthanized on the street after she was found with horrific injuries Oct. 8. It’s believed she had been beaten and possibly dragged behind a vehicle.

The dog’s legs were bound with duct tape, and there was a tow rope around its neck. Its head was wrapped in a bag.
Takada declined to reveal why his client didn’t call a veterinarian when the dog was first injured.

"That is a really good question about it. I do know the reason, but I don’t want to disclose it at this time. It will come out in court, eventually," he said.

Takada said he advised Haskett to stay away from Didsbury’s courthouse Wednesday after protesters at an earlier hearing swarmed his family’s van and pounded their fists on the windows and hood.

Several animal-abuse protesters, including Calgarian Melissa Coderre, returned to the courthouse Wednesday, but in smaller numbers. Haskett did not show up in person for the hearing.

Coderre, who rescued an abused dog, said she will continue to show up for the hearings. She is fighting to ensure animals are better protected under the law. "It’s important enough to me to be here," she said following the brief hearing. Takada and Crown prosecutor Gordon Haight are scheduled to return to Didsbury provincial court Dec. 11, when it’s expected Haskett will enter a plea to the charges. The accused youth is due back in court Dec. 7.