Court denies Sask. man’s application to prevent re-homing of 21 dogs seized from his properties

Court of King's Bench in Regina can be seen in this file photo. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)

A Regina man’s application to prevent the re-homing of 21 dogs seized from his properties was recently denied by the Court of King’s Bench.

According to background facts in the Feb. 20 order by Judge Danyliuk, the plaintiff, Gordon Loucks, owned 21 dogs in two homes of “modest size” in Regina.

A complaint was first made in October alleging that Loucks had about 11 dogs and an unknown number of puppies in his houses, according to the court document.

The Regina Humane Society (RHS) served Loucks with a notice of complaint on Oct. 22, 2024, and a formal inspection date of Oct. 25, 2024, was given.

Two animal protection officers went to the two homes on Oct. 22 with the formal inspection taking place on Oct. 25.

“[The officers] saw multiple dogs. There was “a strong smell of feces and urine” which was noticeable immediately upon entering [one house]. There was garbage and debris on the kitchen counters. There was no lighting. The only furniture in the house appeared to be a futon, a coffee table and a kitchen table, as well as a television on a stand,” the judge wrote.

“[The second house] was also inspected and was in similar condition. A number of dogs were present at and in these houses. The officers noted signs of “illness and distress.”

After the inspection revealed unsanitary conditions, the officers served Loucks with a corrective action order, with a due date of Nov. 1, 2024. According to the order, he was required to clean and scrape floors of defecation and debris at one of the houses and clean the floors and bird cage at the other house.

Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, officers discovered Loucks had more dogs in his care than the initial complaint suggested. They also discovered that he was using medication prescribed for one dog to treat other dogs.

Animal protection officers, as well as members of the Regina Police Service then conducted a search warrant on Nov. 1. They served Loucks with a notice of seizure, and 21 dogs were taken.

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Following the seizure of the animals, there were more inspections conducted on his properties, which revealed both houses were unsanitary, the document read. Loucks filed material to the court, disagreeing to the facts and on the state of cleanliness.

Loucks issued a statement of claim on Dec. 31, 2024, attempting to sue the Regina Humane Society for $3,000. He also put forward an application for a preservation order under Section 5 of the Enforcement of Money Judgements Act (EMJA) to prevent RHS from dealing with the seized dogs.

“The plaintiff wants that order to prevent the respondent, Regina Humane Society Inc. [RHS], from disposing or dealing with his 21 dogs which were seized from the plaintiff by RHS on November 1, 2024. Further, his application asks that the order direct RHS to tell him where the 21 dogs are,” the document read.

The preservation order was ultimately denied by the Court of King’s Bench with the judge citing several reasons for the dismissal.

According to the document, most of the dogs had already been re-homed before the application was heard.

“Granting a preservation order now will not undo what the defendant did prior to this application being brought. Further the plaintiff was aware of RHS’s actions, as he attested to same in both his affidavits,” the document read.

Further, the judge said the conditions for the application were not met, the EMJA was not mentioned in the statement of claim, and the plaintiff failed to satisfy a three-prong test under the EMJA, including a two-month delay in issuing the statement of claim.

The court also said Loucks could have pursued other legal remedies but chose not to.

The court also ordered Loucks to pay $1,500 to the RHS, payable at the conclusion of the case.

The judge also noted that there is evidence that RHS spent “substantial sums on veterinary services to bring these unhealthy dogs back to a standard level of health.”

“Indeed, for just the two dogs remaining in the care of RHS over $4,100.00 had been spent,”