Very sad: tortured dog

[dogmelissa]

*sigh* I was hoping that this would have been the last update on this case, but alas, that is not to be.

I showed up at the Didsbury Court house yesterday at 9:45am. There were the same group of protesters from Edmonton who have showed up at the "big" dates, and the same media that has been there every time, wonderful, dependable Ruby, and myself.

Thankfully, the docket was not full, so we were treated to getting to Daniel's case quite quickly. It turns out that Daniel has 2 younger brothers (we had thought originally he only had one younger one), and they were both there, and though I don't know for sure, I heard someone say his mom was there, too.
And for the first time EVER, Daniel was actually wearing nice pants, a dress shirt and a TIE!! It was quite shocking to see him actually showing some respect for the court.

So then the lawyer, Takada, gets up. And he says basically "judge, I want your permission to step off this case"... apparently the story that Daniel told the psychologist in his pre-sentence appointment (the one that took him like a month to get to) was significantly different than the agreed statement of facts, which he had signed in August (and the lawyer had signed). And it being different means that if the lawyer continues, he is either saying that he lied to the court with the first statement of facts, or that he is lying to the court now, which he obviously isn't going to do. So, the judge gave him permission to step down.

Then they set a new date for Daniel to have a new lawyer and find out how to proceed--either the new lawyer will decide he has to stand by what he signed on the statement of facts, or they will have to do an investigative trial with witnesses, and evidence and the whole thing, so the judge can figure out which version of the story is the truth. Realistically, it probably won't make any difference, but if it does go to a "trial", having the discrepancy will probably influence the judge's decision for sentence--as he has already plead guilty. There's a chance that even this discrepancy, even if the new lawyer forces Daniel to be bound by it (I'm sure he told the doctor he wasn't as involved as he had previously said he was), may influence the judge's decision somewhat.

The other thing that happened was that the crown (and another lawyer who was there, I have no idea who he was or where he came from) agreed to a new set of release conditions; Daniel can have NO contact, direct or indirect, with T. (no email, phone, letters, no "messengers" relaying conversations), and he is now allowed to check in with the PO officer by phone, rather than in person. He must abide by these rules until the case is settled. Sounds nice, but who is going to stop him from calling or emailing or text messaging... he can't be watched 24/7!! Nice idea, but quite lame. I'm sure that all the things he changed were to put blame on T for more things, since he has already been sentenced & was a youth at the time, so he can't get in any further trouble--Daniel is facing jail time.

So... I'm sorry to report that I have no final update on this. He is back in court Monday November 5th--with a new lawyer if there is any justice in the world, and then a further date will be set after that. *sigh*

I also just found out that the Calgary Humane Society sends cats & dogs (mostly dogs) out to the youth penitentiary in what is called a Paws for Hope program--the kids in jail work with the animals and train them and it teaches them compassion and responsibility. It also helps the animals learn things that makes them more adoptable for when they get back.
Not that I think Daniel should be lucky enough to get into this program, but it's nice to see that the animals that need help are actually helping others, too.

A couple of links:
http://tinyurl.com/2zdfyx

Lawyer In Didsbury Dog Case Quits, Delaying Sentencing
Oct, 17 2007 - 11:30 AM

CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Sentencing has been put off again for an Alberta man who admitted to fatally torturing his mother's dog.
Daniel Charles Haskett of Didsbury pleaded guilty last spring to animal cruelty and obstruction of justice for initially lying to police about his role in the death of Daisy Duke, a Lab-border-collie cross.
He was due to be sentenced in August, but that was put off due to incomplete psychological and pre-sentencing reports.
Now, it's been delayed again - this time to November 5th -- because his lawyer abruptly quit Wednesday over a discrepancy between facts giving in court and a statement made to a doctor.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/20...583675-cp.html
(please note the picture here is one from last fall, not the most recent court date)

Sentencing in dog torture case delayed again
By James Stevenson, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The sentencing of the 20-yera old Didsbury man in an horrific animal abuse case came to an abrupt halt Wednesday when the man's lawyer withdrew from the case, saying his client had changed his story. (JIM WELLS/SUN MEDIA)

(Picture caption: Daniel Charles Haskett, 20, of Didsbury pleaded guilty last spring to one count of animal cruelty and one count of obstruction of justice for initially lying to police about his role in the death of Daisy Duke, a Lab-border-collie cross.)

DIDSBURY, Alta. - Sentencing for an Alberta man who admitted to torturing his mother's dog has been delayed again after his lawyer quit abruptly Wednesday over ethical and professional concerns.

He originally was to be sentenced in August, but that was delayed due to incomplete psychological tests and pre-sentencing reports.

His lawyer, Mark Takada, told provincial court Wednesday that Haskett's version of events to a psychologist "differed significantly" from the agreed statement of facts he signed back in May.

As a result, Takada withdrew from the case. He said outside the courthouse that he feared he may have been "a party to misleading the court" as to what happened.

"I've either misled the court unwittingly by signing the agreed statement of facts or I'd be misleading the court by saying that what he told (the psychologist) was correct. So that's the problem it puts me in," said Takada.

"Mr. Haskett's never said he's not guilty. It's just the facts around his involvement in the case that are contentious at this point."

Takada would not say specifically how Haskett's version of events changed in the psychologist's report.

But he said if more blame was being put upon Haskett's 17-year-old friend and accomplice, who also pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty, "that would make a big difference in what the sentence would be."

The 17-year-old was sentenced in May to three months of house arrest, two years of probation and 240 hours of community service.

An adult convicted of animal cruelty under the Criminal Code faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. Takada said he was planning to ask for a conditional sentence for Haskett - basically house arrest - before he read the psychologist's report.

Haskett has until Nov. 5 to find a new lawyer and decide how to proceed.

Crown prosecutor Gord Haight said Haskett and his lawyer might apply to change his plea back to not guilty or change the facts that he had earlier agreed to. But he plans to fight it.

"My position is the accused ought to be sentenced on the facts that he earlier admitted to," Haight said outside of court.

"The accused has admitted to the facts as alleged by the Crown in the agreed statement of facts. He wasn't unrepresented - he was represented by competent counsel at the time those facts were agreed and admitted to."

According to those agreed facts, the chain of events that led to Daisy Duke's death last October began when Haskett's friend accidentally drove over the dog after a visit to Haskett's home.

Fearing that he would lose his driver's licence and get in trouble with Haskett's mother, the teen and Haskett, 19 at the time, devised a plan to kill the dog and pretend that she had run away.

After various attempts to kill Daisy failed, the two decided to drag the dog out of town to dispose of the body.

Both confessed to not seeking help or checking to see if the dog was still alive.

The teen's attempt to drag Daisy out of town failed when he ran over the dog a second time and snapped the tow rope.

A couple who found Daisy, bound and barely alive in the middle of an intersection, called police. A veterinarian had to destroy the badly injured dog.

Didsbury resident Tamara Chaney collected more than 112,000 signatures from across Canada calling for Ottawa to strengthen federal legislation against animal abuse.

Chaney and other protesters from across Alberta once again travelled to Didsbury on Wednesday for Haskett's court appearance. And once again they left the court disappointed.

"I'm disgusted," said Chaney. "It just brings back all the anger that I had when this first happened."

I will return after November 5th with another update.

Melissa

[mummummum]

One can only hope that the trial judge sees this ploy as an obvious mockery of the justice system and sentences this sociopath accordingly.

[Frenchy]

OMG I can't believe how long this is taking ! I hope people don't forget ... thank you so much for the update !

[Love4himies]

Thank you for keeping us updated! I can't believe what a mockery he is making of the justice system. Some people know how to play the game to their advantage. Wonder how different the two statement of facts are.

[chico2]

Melissa,thank you for still keeping us updated,the case with Daisy-Duke is one of those horror-stories I will never forget and I am ing there will be some kind of justice for this poor girl.
Also thank you to all those people who are not giving up,including you..
I am hoping he will get jailtime,but I doubt it..
I have never met a person who has comitted such an unspeakable act,I know I would have a difficult time with it,how do you feel when you look at this monster?
The nice pants,dressshirt thing,is just to show the judge what a"good boy"he is,but I am sure the judge can still see what lies beneath the good clothes.

[CyberKitten]

Oh that poor dog!! I don't believe in capital punishment because of a variety of reasons but do think in this situation, the perpetrator should have the maximum thrown at him - and I wish it was more than the paltry jail time, if that even happens, that he would get now, sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! He should also be made - under supervision of course - to learn to care for dogs and pick up after them. House arrest would be a joke!!!!

If it is juvenile, maybe there could be more rehab done for him, not tgat hs is that younger than the 20 year old tho they are both on their way to hurting many animals and probably humans. You know all those studies indicating a strong correlation between animal abuse and psychopathic behaviour, incl murder - which is what this is of course.

There was a program at a women's prison near Louisiana that I heard about when I was helping out at the Baton Rouge , La St.Jude's after Hurricane Katrina. These women inmates each received a kitten or cat who lost a home or place in a shelter due to the storm and became responsible for his or her care. They all loved those cats so much that they socialized ferals, gave others a loving and caring place and it did wonders for the women as well.

Someone who does this kind of crime would never qualify for that kind of program though - he is already on his way to becoming a sociopath, sigh!

I'll say a prayer that dog finds his friends at the Bridge some day!

[dogmelissa]

Originally Posted by chico2

Melissa,thank you for still keeping us updated,the case with Daisy-Duke is one of those horror-stories I will never forget and I am ing there will be some kind of justice for this poor girl.
Also thank you to all those people who are not giving up,including you..
I am hoping he will get jailtime,but I doubt it..
I have never met a person who has comitted such an unspeakable act,I know I would have a difficult time with it,how do you feel when you look at this monster?
The nice pants,dressshirt thing,is just to show the judge what a"good boy"he is,but I am sure the judge can still see what lies beneath the good clothes.

Chico & everyone else... you are all welcome. I know that many of you heard about this on your local news, and though the media here are following it, they aren't nearly as interested as most of you. Thankfully I have now started my own business, so I set my own hours, and I make *sure* that I have time for this. Hopefully it'll all be over soon and I won't have to do a round-trip 2 hour drive anymore; I know that Didsbury is no longer a place I can drive past/through without feeling anger, resentment, horror and a horrible amount of sadness, all because of a dog I never even met.

To answer your question chico, I have massive mixed feelings towards Daniel & T. The one day in court, when T. was sitting directly in front of me, I felt as if someone had placed a container of the creepiest-crawliest-nastiest slimy creatures you could find, and I simply could not get my chair far enough away. Unfortunately for me, I was *not* in the back row, but I could not move my chair, because the row behind me always contains RCMP officers, and they need access in case of an emergency. Now that T. isn't there, I'm better able to get a little more space in the court room, but it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's really strange because a good portion of me has nothing but pure hatred for both of them; hatred, anger, frustration, rage, and an incredible desire to inflict pain upon them. But then this other part of me feels incredibly sorry for them both; that they obviously grew up in homes lacking in love to such an extent that they could not even understand the unconditional love in an animal's eyes. I feel incredibly sad that their parents could have abandoned them in such a way that they both seem to think that it's ok to harm another living creature. Don't get me wrong, if I met either of them all alone in the middle of nowhere, I would not be throwing my arms around them and telling them "it's ok, someone will love you" (I'd be beating the living crap out of them, and then hitting them some more!!), but I do feel very sorry for them because they don't understand love.

I've had animals in my home since I was 7, but before that I always managed to find animals; on relative's farms, collecting bugs at the park, stray cats that mysteriously found their way to our back door... I volunteered at the local Humane Society for 3 years, and have recently gone back to them again... I took a Zoology degree and tried to become a vet (that didn't work out for me), and most people who know me refer to my house as "the zoo". My parents are still married; which is strange when I look at most of the people I grew up with, and I've always been surrounded by love. I honestly can't imagine what it would have been like to grow up in a home where the people cared so little for each other that these boys don't know what love is.
That makes me very sad. Especially because Daisy-Duke suffered in such a horrible way for their lack.
I try to look on the bright side. I do not believe that Daisy-Duke died in vain. Because of her death, a petition was brought to the house of commons. Because of her death, people like you--everyone here at pets.ca and the public at large--are more aware of how pathetic the laws are when it comes to protecting animals. Because of her death, hopefully something will change, and in the future, no other animal will have to die the way she did.

I know that Daisy-Duke has already crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I hope that she comes back to the edge, or looks out the window or whatever they have up there, so that she can see the love and support that we have for her, and know that even though in her life she may not have affected many, in death, she has affected tons of people. A dog I never met has changed my life.

---
Ok, yeah... ummm.... I think I got a little there. Oops.

So I'm back in court on Nov 26, and that should be quick and will just set a date for the new lawyer to decide whether or not to force Daniel to accept what he already signed in the statement of facts, or it should set a "trial" date to bring forth witnesses in an attempt to figure out which set of facts (the statement or the things he told the doctor) is really the truth.
I will update that afternoon or the following day.

Thanks for your continued support.
Melissa

[chico2]

Melissa,once again,thank you,also for your "off topic"bit,although I don't consider it off topic,very well written
In many instances however,maybe not with these monsters,I know of kids growing up with love,spoiled to the ninth,who never learned to love and respect animals,because the parents did not.
Then there are others who are just evil for no other reason,than to inflict pain and suffering on another living beeing.
If,like you said,nothing else comes out of Daisy-Dukes suffering,hopefully it will set changes in motion,changes that will vindicate another Daisy-Duke,unfortunately there will be others in the future:sad:

[Frenchy]

So nothing will happen on the 26 ? Just set a date ? This thing is dragging on , can't wait to hear the verdict. GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY !

[dogmelissa]

Frenchy,

Just to clarify, both T. & Daniel changed their plea to guilty some time ago. What we are waiting on now is sentencing for Daniel. They were unable to proceed with the sentencing before as he went in for a psychiatric/psychological assessment to determine whether or not he was mentally healthy (terrifyingly, T.'s report showed no mental illness whatsoever, nor any drugs or alcohol!), and it was at that assessment when he told the doctor a different story of what happened. We don't know yet what was different, but the lawyer (at the time) said that it was different in his/T.'s roles at certain points of the evening, which we can all probably safely assume means that now that T.'s sentencing is done (slap on the wrist), Daniel tried to put much more blame on him as he knew he could go to jail for doing those things.

So now we have to wait and see which version of the facts the court will hold Daniel to, and *then* he can be sentenced.

So yes, the Nov 26 date is simply just another trip to Didsbury to find out when to go back again. *sigh* The only thing I hope for at this stage in the game is decent weather so the highway is in good condition, as more than half of the trip is on a very nasty section of highway prone to ice up really badly in the winter. If the weather is too horrible, I can call Ruby who only lives 10 minutes away, and I will still get you an update.

Melissa

[chico2]

Melissa,please don't risk having an accident over this,I am sure the date for sentecing will be months away.
Nov 26th will only be a 10min thing and since you have Ruby to update you,please don't take any chances,ok..

[dogmelissa]

Update again...

Chico, no worries about the road. Today the road was actually in really good shape, just visibility was down with fog & some snow falling. The worst part was the number of drivers who don't turn on their headlights; some have running lights (the little annoying corner orange lights), some had none, but there were a bunch of them. Not too bad on the divided part of the highway, but the undivided part made me go with more caution (though by the time I got to that part, the fog was lifting). I agree, though, this guy is *not* worth risking my life over, and should the conditions be truly bad (we're still getting used to snow so ppl are driving like retards), I won't go.

So yeah, today was the waste I thought it would be, and remarkably, more of a waste than normal as we'd barely got sat down, judge in & they did his case first, so then we stood up and left again.

Long story short, the new lawyer (I didn't catch his name, will find it in the paper tomorrow) said the disclosure package was returned to the Crown when the other lawyer left and he has not received it yet because he just came onto the case recently. So he asked for the case to be pushed off again until the next time he is in Didsbury so that he can have a chance to get it and review it. The next date is December 10.

So... pending road conditions (it is a well-travelled highway so it does get sanded & plowed, but blowing snow slicks it up really bad), I will be back in Didsbury Dec 10. It will not be the last date, as it's not even a trial date.

The one and only thing about this "extra" delay in this case is that way back in spring (May??), when I went up to see about the assault case, they set it for trial for January 3. That seemed like forever away and I was sure at the time that this animal abuse case would be done. Now that it's not, I might as well go up there for that day and see how that case plays out. They technically can't influence each other, but as he has already plead guilty to the animal abuse case, perhaps they will take that into account in dealing with the assault case, even if he hasn't had sentencing yet. And if not, then perhaps the assault case will wrap up quickly (ha ha ha, I must be dreaming!) and then he will have a criminal record by the time he gets sentenced for the animal abuse. Perhaps. I'm not sure how it's all going to work out time-wise, but here's hoping that one finishes before the other or someone realizes that he's got the 2 pending charges and the connection between them and DOES something.
We can hope, right?

Anyhow, that's really all I have for now. I'm starting a 2nd part-time job tomorrow (doggy day care, totally awesome!) so I will be very busy for the next few weeks, but I will update for sure on or near Dec 10 and will try to find any articles on this one tomorrow or soon.

Melissa

[pbpatti]

Melissa, thanks for the update on this case. I have not heard/read much about it for some time now.

I appreciate the time you took to get this info to us. lets hope that JUSTICE and the law will prevail and that we can have new laws brought into Alberta that will give more protection to our animals and harsher sentences to the CRIMINALS.

Your new job should remind you that not all are bad in this world of ours, there are still people who love and care for the s of our lives.

Patti

[Love4himies]

Thank you for the update, I so appreciate you doing all this for us to be kept informed.

Hopefully justice will prevail, this guy is obviously an abuser to both man and animal and should not be loose in our society.

[chico2]

Melissa thank you again for sticking to this horrible case,even if it takes 5 yearsDaisy-Dukes suffering will not be forgotten:sad:

[MariaandSamuel]

Thank you so much for the update Melissa! I have been going nuts trying to find out what happened. The press seems to have lost interest (ADD at it’s finest - outrage one moment then they can't complete the article)…

[dogmelissa]

*sigh*







This is what I feel like right now.

Monday December 10 (sorry for the delay in posting), after an over-night snow of about 3 inches in Calgary, I carefully make my way the almost-hour drive to Didsbury. As expected, someone was late. This time it was the Crown Prosecutor and nothing can happen without them. So we wait. And wait. And finally, the guy gets there--turns out he got confused and went to Okotoks (south of Calgary) and then realized he was supposed to be in Didsbury (north of Calgary) so by the time he got there he was 1.5 hrs late. And since I had to work, and Daniel's lawyer obviously had something else to do, his case didn't get handled (lawyer left before Prosecutor got there and I had to leave at noon). Ruby called the Prosecutor's office on Tuesday (11th) and was told they would be back in Didsbury on Wednesday (12th). On such short notice, and since I'm currently working 2 jobs, I was unable to make it, but Ruby did. I love this lady, I really do.

So, Dec 12... basically what happened was what was expected, they pushed it off for another date. This time (don't hold your breath), the next date is April 21, 2008. Check your calendar; this is a Monday. Know what happens on Mondays in Didsbury court?? NOTHING! It's a docket day, not a trial day. *sigh* So it'll probably get pushed off AGAIN. Probably is the key word. There is a tiny (very very) possibility that they will actually do something that day, but my personal opinion is that possibility is about as likely as Elvis coming back from the dead. *sigh*

I will report back after the assault trial Jan 3, but then I will have nothing to report until April. At that point, it will have been essentially 18 months since the day Daisy Duke died, and T's "sentence" will be pretty much up... and Daniel will have been free and untouched the entire time. Oh and that court order preventing T & Daniel from communicating? Anyone remember that? Wonder who's going to continue enforcing that for the next 4 months? Yea, probably the same person who's done so since May; no one! So stupid.

And as nice as it would be to have new laws in place, people cannot be tried/charged/sentenced under laws that didn't exist when they did their crime, so even if they passed a law tomorrow that called for 40 years in jail for this abuse, Daniel could only get the sentence that existed at the time of the crime.

I need to go to bed; I've had a headache all day and my dog isn't feeling well, and I have to work tomorrow all day.
Here's the article from the local paper:
http://tinyurl.com/28k89u

Animal abuse case delayed until spring
Dan Singleton, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, December 13, 2007

There has been yet another delay in the sentencing of a 20-year-old man at the centre of a high-profile animal abuse case in Didsbury, this time until spring.

Daniel Charles Haskett pleaded guilty in May to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and obstruction of justice.

Haskett was charged after a Lab-collie cross named Daisy Duke was found severely injured on a Didsbury street in October 2006. The dog's injuries were so severe it had to be put down.

Haskett was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 17, but his lawyer withdrew on the day of sentencing.

The case was adjourned to allow his new lawyer, Alan Pearce, time to obtain documents.

Haskett was to be sentenced on Wednesday, but Judge Gerald Meagher granted a further adjournment, until April 21, the earliest date available for the judge and the lawyers involved.

"Something will happen on that day, for sure," said Pearce.

Animal rights activists attending court Wednesday expressed outrage at the further delay.

"This is totally ridiculous," said Lori Wiess.

Melissa

[pbpatti]

Melissa thank you for the update.

I too believe that nothing will happen to the abusers, no to light a word, murderers is better. Hopefully we can get some laws to be able to lock away these ( i don't know what to call them).

patti

[chico2]

Melissa,how incredibly frustrating
Why don't they just skip it alltogether,it's not like the"kid"will go to jail and save the tax-payers some money,our justice-system really stinks
I can only hope,Daisy-Duke knows how sorry we all are,we were not there to help her against these monsters and that one day karma will catch up with them
We love you Daisy-Duke..:sad:

[MariaandSamuel]

Thank you again Melissa for posting this update. I’m going to have to hone my searching skills as I searched the Calgary Herald!

They can’t stop prosecuting these young people as they need help and pose a danger to society until they get that help – not that they will through our court system but it’s the best we have. These boys lack empathy (a learned skill) or any concept of responsibility never mind any understanding of goodness as outlined in any philosophy. I think that’s what is happening as families break off from any religious practice (you don't even have to pick one - study them all!). As we go longer not teaching any faith or formal value structure each generation will feel less responsible to, and for, those around them. This can’t feel good for those boys. It must be quite lonely and scary. What kind of hostile world do they live in? You don't have to wait very long or look very far to see the Karma.

On that note … why aren’t his parents being charged with him (both of them!)? Wasn’t that being talked about for a while regarding underage criminals (while this boy is over 18yrs he is, in my opinion, a juvenile as he is living with, and therefore dependent on, his family)?? If that’s not where the problem is then it’s certainly part of the equation.

I believe that you can’t have a healthy society unless you have healthy children and animals because they interact the most, and the most intimately (bum sniffing, spit, pee, poo, sneezing, licking, eye/nose rubbing... ), among themselves and others therefore that’s how disease is most easily spread (I think pet vaccines should be covered by healthcare or, at the very least, tax exempt- nobody needs anybody’s animal running around unvaccinated without medical reason). Unfortunately, here, we have neither healthy children or healthy animals and we, as a society, suffer.

[dogmelissa]

Patti... I agree with you, I have no idea what to call these "people". Monster doesn't seem fitting (and lumps things like Shrek into bad places!), yet nothing else comes to mind.

Chico... I think you're right, or at least I hope you are. Karma had better catch up to these two, or I'll have to stop believing in that, too. Something nasty like being attacked by a coyote (preferably an animal that they can't find to kill after), or maybe they'll go to the zoo, fall into the elephant enclosure and get trampled to death as the elephants try to run away. That sounds fitting. Of course, I hope in that situation, the elephants step on every part of them except their heads so that they can suffer for awhile. Yeah, ok, maybe I'm a little bit bitter.

Maria/Samuel... The Calgary Herald isn't that hard to search. Just go to http://canada.com, from the pull down "Jump To" pick Calgary Herald and then in the search part, I simply use "Didsbury dog" or "Didsbury Haskett" or some combination like that. The only problem is if you're not a subscriber (online or in print), you may not be able to read the articles in the archive. Some of them you can but not all of them. Hope that helps... if it doesn't work for you, you can just check on my posts as the Herald is actually following the case fairly well (even if it is being sent to page 5 or 6 now and the reporter doesn't show up, just gets the info from the Crown Prosecutor's office). I'm not sure if there is other coverage in other papers; I think the Didsbury paper has also been covering it, but they don't keep an archive online and their paper only comes out once a week so if you miss it, you're SOL.

To answer your other questions/ponderings... Daniel's parents (I believe that T's are still together) are divorced. His mom apparently has dated many many men, and most of them are young enough to be Daniel's brother (her latest one is 22 or so I've heard). To make it even better, she apparently lets/encourages these men to move in with her (& her family) pretty much as soon as they start dating. Not that it's an excuse (and I have no idea how long it's been going on), but it's fairly obvious to me that Daniel has never had the experience of a loving family. He doesn't have a male role model, so has likely never learned what is a proper way to deal with anger and frustration (which is why he's up on assault charges), and he apparently never learned love from his mother--or if he did, she managed to undo it all with a never-ending string of men. The whole thing makes me quite ill; I can't really imagine the situation being good for anyone, and I refuse to feel sorry for Daniel, but it does make me sad that a mother can think it's ok to focus so entirely on her own selfish indulgences and spend so little time paying attention to her children. I don't know anything about her, but there's a reason why I think people ought to require licenses before they can have children--I think many people would fail the test, including Daniel's parents. Do I blame her? Yes, partially. But a parent apparently is never held accountable for their children's actions; which I've never understood. Ok, some are forgiveable, like when a child eats a candy out of a jar at the candy store (when they're like 4 years old), but I've never really understood the whole thing about kids like 10+ who do some pretty nasty things and nothing happens to them or their parents. At the very least, you'd think they'd send the parents to some parenting classes or something!

Anyhow... I guess it's not for us to decide on. The justice system says that every person is responsible for their own actions, whether they are 4, 14, or 40, living with their parents or not (my uncle-in-law is in his mid-50s and has lived with/depended on his parents for nearly 20 years; if he did something bad, would we hold his parents accountable?? Where do you draw the line?). So all I can do is continue to find the time to drive to Didsbury whenever Daniel is in court, and hope that eventually he'll get the treatment he needs and ideally spend some time in jail. And every chance I get, and everytime I hug or kiss one of my furry ones or look into the deep brown eyes of a dog, I send my love to Daisy Duke and all other animals who have died needlessly at the hands of cruel humans. It's a horrible world we live in where we kill everything around us needlessly.

Here's wishing everyone, all the furry creatures in your life and friends & family, a safe, warm and enjoyable Christmas. All the best in 2008 as well, though I will be around very early in January to update.

Take care,
Melissa

[chico2]

Melissa,very well said
I do not agree with MariaandSamuel that beeing brought up with religion always makes a person a compassionate human beeing,there is plenty of evidence in the world to the contrary.
Melissa,I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and thank you again for beeing who you are

[dogmelissa]

Thanks Chico.. and I agree, religion does not necessarily spawn compassion. I myself was raised in an atheist family, and I'm pretty sure that I would be considered a compassionate person.
One thing I have always wondered about all religions, especially Christianity... God is supposed to love all people, yet so many children suffer with terrible diseases and injuries. Passionately religious people have told me this is to "test" the parents, to "ensure" their faith. Ok, fine... but isn't there ways to do it other than torturing a child????

One interesting thing, though.... I'm going to get blasted for this, I'm sure.... have you ever noticed what the word god spells backwards? Capitalize it differently, and I can get on board: goD.

Anyhow... Merry Christmas, thanks for the hugs & support Chico!

Melissa

[MariaandSamuel]

It was never my intent to suggest that the practice of religion indicates anything positive or negative about a person. I was referring to the deconstruction of social values. I’m sorry if that was confusing for you.

Point of fact, my parents’ neighbor is the pastor of a church in rural Alberta (about 45 minutes south of Edmonton). He seems to think that his sh** comes out blessed by god himself. He has five children – all home schooled (scary) and is the worst neighbor we have ever had (and we’ve had druggies)! One family has had to leave the area because of him (he shot their goD - dead). Most recently, this past fall, he hit (with his truck) our 12 yr old Australian Cattle dog and left him to die in a field. When my mom called to ask if he had seen him she was told no. I went out to look for him and found him unable to move but still alive in the field. We crawled through the mud to get him out and to the vet who “euthanized” him the next day. We know it was him because they, my parents and that family, live at the end of a dead end road. There is nobody else down that far.

I would never intentionally suggest that the practice of religion indicates anything about a person. What religion did do, and should do, was give the individual a consistent concept about what is appropriate behavior.

I would also never suggest that this kid is to be pitied. He is my worst nightmare. I don’t want him living on my block. I don’t want him near my kids (my theoretical kids as I don’t actually have any) or my animals. He watched this and did this to that dog. He is not a good person. I don’t even think he is a salvageable person.

What I do think is that his parents, both of them no matter their relationship or circumstances, as well as any of the men who have lived with the mother and may have had care, control and influence at any time of this boy need to be standing trial with him as they are just as guilty, no matter his age. People are responsible for how their dogs turn out why not their children? Grownups also need to consider whether or not they are fit and able to move into a situation with children. I don’t give free passes because these men didn’t contribute the specific sperm.

Elected officials who represent us decide on legislation. If it’s not our place to decide these things, it is our responsibility.

Again, Melissa, thank you so much for the information and for taking the time to go out and report back. Without you, I would not have been able to find out anything! Very frustrating and I am extremely grateful.

A little off topic but…I think that people are born into bad circumstances due to past life Karma and personal testing. What do you think will happen to this Haskett kid in his next life? Besides the obvious torture of daisy, he has divided and terrorized an entire community…and then some.

Maria

[chico2]

Maria,thank you,sorry for missunderstanding.
I could give you many examples of religion gone wrong,but I won't since this is about Daisy-Duke and her killers.
Too many people believe going to church on Sunday forgives all their dastardly deeds.
I too am very greatful to Melissa for beeing vigilant and keeping us updated,here in Ontario I would not have heard anything about Daisy-Duke.

[dogmelissa]

I'm sorry for the delay on this one, the post-new year's week has been completely filled and then I woke up on my birthday (yesterday) with a headcold so today, having worked (2 jobs) from 8am to 6:30pm and then an hour agility with Cube, I feel pretty much like a truck ran over my head and got lodged in my sinuses.

On January 3rd, I drove to Didsbury for Daniel's assault trial. Thankfully, there were only 3 matters on the docket, so I anticipated a fairly brief day. My expectations were greatly exceeded, though, when Daniel was the first matter they called. When he and his lawyer were the only ones that walked into the court room, I thought something seemed a bit strange. Then, realizing that Daniel was wearing jeans, I thought "oh no" and expected a change of date.

What we got was much much worse than a change of date. The crown prosecutor stood up and said essentially (I can't remember exact words), "we didn't subpoena Robert William Haskett therefore we request that the charges be withdrawn". I saw in shocked silence as the judge agreed and the assault charges were dropped. Now, I have no idea who Robert is, though I'm guessing this is one of his brothers.

I don't even know what to say at this point. I'm not surprised in the least, though I'm incredibly disappointed as I so wanted him to be convicted of assault and at the very least have a criminal record when it came time for sentencing on the animal abuse. I wanted someone to make the connection between abusing animals and abusing people and get him the help he so obviously needs--or at the very least, lock him up for a long time!

So, I guess that isn't going to happen, and due to my cold, I'm not going to think about it anymore tonight. My plans for the rest of the night include a hot bath and hopefully bed before 10 (it's 9:00 now).

I will update again in April after the next court date for Daisy.

Wish I had better news.
Melissa

[Love4himies]

OMG does this piece of $hit have a horseshoe up his a$$? Sorry for my language, but I can't believe it. What about justice for his victim?

Thank you again, dogmelissa for the update, really appreciate what you are doing.

[aslan]

Unfu***ng believable. If it was the reverse and the dog killed a human, we all know how that would have ended don't we. Kinda freaky i was reading all of the posts and noticed the show on tv is about jeffrey dahmer. Maybe the laws would be changed if they realized that most sociopaths start out killing and abusing animals. Keep your fingers crossed and believe what goes around comes around.

[chico2]

Melissa,as do I,thank's!
The news was not good,but expected,this is exactly why we have dangerous,cruel people walking our streets.
I don't expect anything to happen to these"kids"regarding Daisy-Duke either,I only hope wherever she is,she knows there are people who care and want justice for her suffering.

Hope you are feeling better

[SARAH]

I've read this thread on a nd off, not getting in before, but right now I feel that the old practice of mob-lynching would have it's place in that town!

What I can't understand, is that this judge, is a human too, no? Unless it's somone as cold and cruel as this Daniel fellow, how can he keep dragging this out for so long? It makes no sense at all!

Have faith in the judicial system ... sure