Dear friends, When Molly was rescued she was severely emaciated, shivering on a front porch with a collar deeply embedded in her neck, neglected to the point where it was a miracle she survived. On July 31, one of the accused in the case, Rupert Wilson, was sentenced for the abuse inflicted upon Molly. Below is what he was sentenced to for what the BC SPCA said was one of the worst cases of animal cruelty they've ever seen: • a 3 month conditional sentence (meaning if he breaks any of the conditions, he may go to jail) • 12 months probation • a 10-year ban on owning animals • 25 hours of community service • $150 restitution (to the RCMP officer who rescued Molly for veterinary expenses; he was not ordered to pay anything to cover the $2,406 in bills incurred by the SPCA because the judge felt he had no ability to pay) • $100 victim surcharge (to whom I don’t know, as I assume Molly won’t get that money) Despite the fact that 58,858 people signed a petition asking that Molly’s abusers, if convicted, receive the maximum penalty, it appears our voices were essentially ignored (perhaps apart from the 10-year ban on owning animals which should have been a lifetime, in my humble opinion). I don’t know what more we can do to speak on behalf of our precious animals who have no voice. The government ignores our pleas to strengthen animal cruelty legislation and the courts ignore our pleas to enforce what laws are already available. I’m disheartened, but will never give up trying to make them understand that they must take animal abuse cases more seriously than they currently do. Crystal Bee goes to court in October, and an update on the number of signatures will also be provided at that time, so please continue to share (for what it's worth). Molly, I’m grateful you have a loving family and a great life now, as there was NO JUSTICE for you from our "justice" system. Further information: http://www.courierislander.com/news/local/3-month-sentence-for-rupert-wilson-1.1272964 http://bc.ctvnews.ca/no-jail-time-for-b-c-man-who-starved-young-dog-1.1941298 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/molly-s-former-owner-gets-3-month-conditional-jail-term-for-animal-cruelty-1.2725098?cmp=rss