First edition of the Windsor Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Newsletter!  Please click on the above link to view it.

If you want to sign the “Animals Matter to Me”‘ petition, please visit  www.animalsmatter.org.

Are you having family come and visit you in Windsor? Are you missing your beloved pet? Here’s some hotels in Windsor that are pet friendly so that your 4-legged friend can visit you.

Radisson Riverfront Hotel

All pets welcome. Pet treats given at check-in. Will walk pets. There is a park just across from the hotel to walk and exercise them. We make no charge for pet visitors, neither do we ask for a deposit. In return we do ask that you sign a waiver and supervise your pets at all times and clean up after them carefully for the comfort of other guests. We don’t recommend the pet to be left in the room unattended. However, if needed, please provide the front desk staff with a contact number in case of emergency.

Quality Suites

We are Pet friendly! Please provide advance notification if possible. We will try to locate your pet family on a lower floor near a stairwell for easy exit access. Pets are not to be left unattended. A free welcome kit including treats, scoop bag and local information helpful to pet owners is provided at check-in.

Marquis Plaza Hotel

Guests travelling with pets are required to sign a pet policy, the terms of which include the following:
• $10 surcharge per pet, per night
• Extended stay guests (4 nights or more) pay a one-time fee of $40 for their pet
• Maximum of 3 pets per room
• No weight restrictions
• Guests must declare their pets when registering.
Please contact us for complete pet policy details.

Holiday Inn Select

No Arbitrary Pet Fees – Any additional fees charged to guests traveling with pets, reflect the extra cleaning costs or maintenance expenses the lodging incurs for accepting pets, and do not represent a financial penalty to the pet owner for simply bringing an animal to the premises.

This park is fully fenced.  You can let your dog run off leash.  There is a smaller area for dogs with behavioural issues or smaller stature off to the side.  There is also a trail nearby where you can walk your dog.

It is important to bring poopbags as they are frequently not in stock at the park.  Also, bring some water and a bowl for your dog as he/she will likely be very thirsty from all the excitement.

There is a Dainty Rice factory nearby and after a few visits, your hound will learn the smell and become very excited as you approach the park.

Remington Park- Lillian & Edinborough

This park is fully fenced.  There is a small area for dogs with behavioural issues or smaller stature off to the side.

It is important to bring poopbags as they are frequently not in stock at the park.  Also, bring some water and a bowl for your dog as he/she will likely be very thirsty from all the excitement.

This park is slightly more popular than the Broadway park.  However, the average dog size tends to be smaller.

Ali Baba’s-  2440 University Avenue West

• Hummus
• Falafel
• Salad

Harvey’s- 2380 Wyandotte Street

• Vegetarian burger

Hurricane’s- 3217 Sandwich Street

• Vegetarian burger (2-4-1 Thursdays)
• Stirfry
• Salads
• Lasagne
• Fajita
• Quesadilla

Market Place- food court in CAW Student Centre

• Pizza Pizza
• Pita Pit
• Teriyaki experience
• Salad Station
• Sushi

Rock Bottom Bar & Grill- 3236 Sandwich Street

• Soup
• Salad
• Sandwich

Sam’s Pizzeria- 2215 Wyandotte Street

• Grilled focaccia
• Thin crust pizza
• Pasta
• Salad
• Panzerotti

“It makes me really mad that people think animals are disposable,” Amy Nardella, an Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals agent, said Wednesday. “When people just lock their pets in when they move out, it’s a death sentence.”

Nardella said she was called to the 1000 block of Howard Avenue on Monday, where she collected a grey cat whose body was too decomposed to estimate age.

“There were maggots and stuff,” said Nardella. “The cat’s eyes were gone.

-By:  Craig Pearson, Windsor Star

-Published:  May 21, 2009

“But it was clear it was starved to death. It was just a skeleton with fur. It was only dead about a month. There was no way it would look like that if it was a cat that had been eating.”

Nardella said though she would like to charge the man criminally, she doesn’t yet know where he is. Furthermore, it may be difficult to prove ownership in court. So she may resort to handing a number of tickets under the City of Windsor bylaw — citing him for not taking proper care of an animal, not providing the necessities of life, and causing pain to an animal.

She will also consider asking a judge to ban the man from owning another pet for the rest of his life.

Gino Di Carlo , the owner of the three-bedroom home where the cat was found, said finding the cat turned his stomach.

“My friend came out holding him by the tail,” Di Carlo said. “I was screaming my head off. It was very upsetting.”

Di Carlo had gone into clean up the house after he realized his tenant had left, without paying the last few months’ rent, sometime in late April.

Besides the cat, Di Carlo said the tenant — who had lived in the home since May 2005 — left the two-storey rental home in a sorry state.

“He damaged the hell out of it,” said Di Carlo. “He left tonnes of stuff. It was a midnight move and he got as much stuff out as he could. The backyard’s in disrepair, as well. The place is going to need a complete reno.”

Lawyers for the City of Windsor, a number of their employees, the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society and a number of their employees are arguing the suit filed in May 2008 by Lafrance should be dismissed in part because those named in it were lawfully going about their duties when the events in question occurred.

Lafrance’s legal action came after police and employees of the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society entered his Windsor Animal Rescue shop on Wyandotte Street East on Feb. 29, 2008.

Lafrance claims the humane society was in a conflict of interest in enforcing bylaws against his business, which included a cat adoption service, because they competed with the humane society.

Lafrance is representing himself in court.

He claims the humane society employees acted in bad faith and that his constitutional rights have been violated.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Richard Gates had to repeatedly keep Lafrance on topic, which was whether or not he should grant the dismissal.

“They’re making it sound as if my place is a little shop of horrors,”said Lafrance. “If I am able to bring witnesses to the stand I will be able to prove what I am saying.”

The humane society hashired Toronto lawyer Claudia Scherman to represent it and their employees.

The incident in question led to Lafrance’s surrender of 42 cats and 12 dogs to the society, and the yanking of his licence.

The two parties are already in legal action related to a Yellow Pages ad for Lafrance’s business that depicts a cat hanged by a noose and warns to “watch out for those who call themselves (an) animal shelter when they are actually animal control facilities.”

-By:  Chris Thompson, Windsor Star

-Published:  June 2, 2009

Justice Micheline Rawlins issued a warrant for Qi Lu’s arrest Monday after he failed to appear for his two-day trial on a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

“He’s receiving medical care (in China), but he’s not confined to a medical institution,” Rawlins said. “We don’t know if he’s applied for a visa to return to Canada. If he comes back to Canada, the warrant will be there.”

Lu, 24, was a second-year business student at the University of Windsor when he was charged in April 2008.

Lu was accused of choking and kicking his four-month-old Husky puppy Kiki. Lu said he was training and disciplining the animal.

He said he was an international student and didn’t know about animal cruelty laws. Lu’s Rankin Avenue neighbours saw the incident and reported him to police.

The dog suffered multiple broken bones, including in all four legs.

The Humane Society euthanized the animal because it was too badly injured.

The Crown could have continued with the trial on Monday as Lu’s lawyer and several witnesses were present to testify, but it instead opted for the arrest warrant, said Elizabeth Brown, assistant Crown attorney.

Nancy McCabe, manager of field operations for Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said she was disappointed.

“It shows the character of this man and the coward he is,” McCabe said. “What goes around comes around. Everyone gets theirs eventually.”

The arrest warrant eliminates any opportunity for Lu to return to Canada to finish his studies or get a job, McCabe said.

Jennie Berkeley, who stood outside the courthouse with signs saying “Kiki deserves justice” and “pass stronger federal cruelty laws” said the trial delay was a “travesty of justice.”

“If his passport wasn’t taken, it was a mistake,” Berkeley said.

“It indicates the court hasn’t taken this case seriously enough.”

-By:  Monica Wolfson, Windsor Star

-Published:  June 2, 2009

Jack Liddle, a Wheatley commercial fishing licence owner, was fined $11,000 and Renato Adragna, a Kingsville boat captain. was fined $2,000 for catching 6,348 pounds of yellow perch over thequota. The two men pleaded guilty to one count of failing to stop fishing after the assigned quota was reached, a Ministry of Natural Resources press release said Wednesday.

An MNR investigation found the commercial fishing vessel captained by Adragna reached its quota May 6, 2008 while fishing in the Chatham-Kent area of Lake Erie. The MNR investigation found the captain went on to fish for four more days.

The ministry monitors commercial and sport fishing. People who want to report a natural resource violation can call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477

By:  The Windsor Star

Published:  June 10, 2009