Puppy mill charges laid
Photo: BC SPCA
These dogs were seized from a property in Clearwater last year following an animal cruelty investigation.
Charges have been laid against an elderly woman accused of running a puppy mill out of her North Thompson home.
BC SPCA officials removed 31 dogs from a Clearwater property after executing a search warrant on Feb. 15, 2024. At the time, the agency said the dogs’ owner had been keeping them in a dark building without adequate heat or bedding.
In Kamloops provincial court on Tuesday, a judge was told the BC SPCA was tipped off about the property when someone who purchased a puppy from the home called to report potential defects with the dog and concerns about the breeder.
Crown prosecutor Monica Fras said investigators found 59 dogs on the property.
“It was essentially set up as a commercial breeding facility,” she said. “There were a number of outbuildings with some pens and different areas in which the dogs were kept.”
Six dogs were seized during execution of the warrant for health reasons, and another 25 were voluntarily surrendered.
Fras said 10 of the dogs appeared to be pets, and they were in good shape.
“It was the animals that were found in the commercial facility that were of concern,” she said.
“The majority of the dogs that were surrendered required veterinary care, dental care and some of them did have to be euthanized as a result of their health conditions.”
Bonnie Milligan, 72, is charged with one count each of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal and failing to provide necessities to an animal.
She was released on bail on Tuesday, ordered to abide by a number of strict conditions, including one prohibiting her from keeping “any dog associated with any commercial purpose.”
Court heard Milligan has 15 dogs in her possession. The terms of her bail will prevent her from replacing any of those animals if they die or become rehomed.
She is due back in court on March 25.
