To the Editor,
Re: Animal cruelty charge earns jail sentence, Nov. 10.
There is just a tad bit of comfort in the sentence Matthew Dean Tremblay earned for his horrific crime against King, a helpless dog.
There is also comfort in knowing we do have judges (too rare) who recognize the suffering of animals and are prepared to sentence accordingly.
I offer a differing opinion to Lorie Chortyk’s remarks that “it’s good to see society taking it seriously and our courts taking it seriously.” Society generally has always taken such atrocities seriously – it is politicians and the courts who haven’t.
Seldom is a perpetrator sentenced to the full extent our weak animal laws allow. Thank you, Judge Ted Gouge for recognizing that animals do feel pain.
Tremblay is a young, dangerous individual and besides serving him up the same treatment he gave King, I suggest community work and anger management courses should have been added to help him experience compassion before it is too late.
His real target was his then-current girlfriend. Who will it be next?
Shirley Lee
Nanaimo