Buddy's shooter fined $2,000

The man who crudely tried to euthanize a German shepherd last March, and then allowed the animal to run off, bleeding and in agony, has been fined $2,000.

Simeon Smith has also agreed to give $1,500 to a Walden Animal Clinic fund set up for Buddy, as the animal came to be known. He’s also prohibited from owning a dog for five years, and must allow the Sudbury branch of the SPCA access to his property to ensure he’s complying.

The maximum penalty for what Smith did is a $60,000 fine and two years in jail.

The decision didn’t sit well with Sara Greene, a supporter of animal rights who came to Provincial Offences Court on Nov. 5 to see what would happen to Smith.

“Not acceptable in my eyes,” Greene said. “I would have liked to see a full $60,000. We’re here to give a voice to the animals.”

Greene was surprised Smith didn’t have to be in court for sentencing. Smith was represented by his lawyer, William Beach, who refused to speak to reporters after the case concluded.

Had Smith been there to accept his sentence and express his remorse in person, Greene said the sentence would be easier to accept.

“If he would have come and expressed remorse, it probably would have made a huge difference to me,” she said.

“If he showed remorse by coming into the courthouse and saying that he was truly sorry, that he didn’t know what to do, it would have made things a lot better. But in the end, it still doesn’t sit well with me, what the judge gave him. He just got a slap on the hand in my opinion.”

Assistant Crown attorney Alex Kurke detailed the sequence of events, which took place in St. Charles. Smith was asked by Buddy’s owner if he knew anyone who could put down a dog she said had been getting aggressive. The owner was fearful for her children’s safety, but couldn’t afford to take him to a vet.

Smith said he knew someone who could do it, and the owner asked him to come get the dog on March 6, 2012, before her children got home from school. He did so, but when he went to take the dog to the friend who was going to put Buddy down, the friend wasn’t home. So Smith decided to do it himself.

He drove to his hunt camp, got his shotgun, stood about five feet away from Buddy and fired. He expected the dog to die immediately, but Buddy took off instead. Smith followed the blood trail to a private farm and driveway, at which point he abandoned the chase, and assumed the dog wouldn’t survive.

A school bus driver saw Buddy, and that he was in distress. Once she was done her route, she returned to the scene to see if she could help, since she had some veterinary training.

Police were there when she arrived and she offered her assistance. Her daughter brought her some supplies, and they took Buddy to the animal shelter in Azilda. The shelter said there was nothing they could do, so they brought Buddy to the Walden Animal Clinic, where he was operated on.

He survived the first surgery, but not the second.

For Smith’s part, he saw the news coverage on TV on March 7, and called the OPP and confessed the next day.

“He immediately expressed regret and remorse for not seeking help when Buddy ran off,” said Kurke, which he attributed to “Mr. Smith’s inexperience” in euthanizing dogs.
 

It’s abhorrent to think someone would attempt to euthanize and animal in this way.

Pierre Leclerc,
Justice of the Peace

Three of the four charges against him were withdrawn as part of the plea deal, and Smith was found guilty of permitting an animal to be in distress. His lawyer said Smith had no prior record and has tried to make amends.

“His remorse has been expressed clearly,” Beach said.

Kurke said the point of a sentence is to deter others from committing the same crime.

“These sorts of cases are often about messaging,” Kurke said, adding that Smith “made a bad choice that caused tremendous suffering to a dog.

“Now (everyone) will understand that the community does not take this lightly, and that the Crown doesn’t take this lightly.”

Justice of the Peace Pierre Leclerc wasn’t pleased Smith wasn’t in court to hear the verdict and to have the conditions of the joint submission explained to him.
Beach said Smith has been aware of the conditions for several weeks, and they reviewed them again during a phone conversation earlier that morning.

“He’s agreed to them,” Beach said, adding that Smith has asked for 12 months to raise money to pay the fine.

“The court would feel more confident if the defendant was here,” Leclerc said, but added he was willing to proceed anyway.

The justice said he has “some level of comfort” agreeing to the joint submission because of the remorse Smith has expressed since the incident occurred. The fact he turned himself in to the OPP is also a mitigating factor, as is his $1,500 donation to the animal clinic. However, the seriousness of what he did shouldn’t be downplayed.

“It’s abhorrent to think someone would attempt to euthanize and animal in this way,” he said. Allowing Buddy to run off while injured “is even more abhorrent than the original offence.”

All factors combined, Leclerc agreed to the joint submission because it’s a sentence that “falls within the realm of what’s reasonable.”

Smith will have to come to court to get a copy of the conditions he has agreed to. If he fails to show, it will be mailed to him.