BY KEITH LACEY
One Sudbury family and the owner of an Azilda animal shelter have become embroiled in a real-life ?cat fight.?
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Desmond Edwards wants the owner of an animal shelter to pay his veterinary bill after his kitten Sheeba became ill days after he paid $75 to purchase the animal from Wenrick Kennels.
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As a result, Desmond Edwards and his wife Christina are taking Richard Paquette, the owner of Wenrick Kennels, to small claims court.
The Edwards want Paquette to pay for a veterinary bill as a result of having to take a sick kitten they purchased from Wenrick Kennels about three weeks ago for medical treatment. They also want Paquette to pay for some of the costs incurred from having to take their adult cat to their
veterinarian several times over the past several weeks.
Due largely to the Edwards? complaints, Paquette has decided not to adopt out any cats for the next two weeks in order to stop the spread of a cold virus a few cats at the shelter have contracted.
The Edwards claim their kitten, Sheeba, almost immediately after they purchased her, became sick and made their nine-year-old adult cat Shadow deathly ill.
Shadow hasn?t been able to eat for almost three weeks and they?ve had to force feed the animal with food from an eye dropper.
Paquette counters he would never intentionally sell a sick animal to any customer.
The kitten he sold to the Edwards for $75 was diagnosed with a respiratory virus he refers to as a ?common cold for cats.? He offered to take the kitten back and restore it to perfect health, but the couple refused.
Now, he?s looking forward to his day in court.
?I won?t bow to threats,? said Paquette.
When the couple first contacted Paquette about the problem, they gave it antibiotics as per his instructions.
They say they turned down the veterinarian?s offer to take the kitten back because they and their two teenage children had ?fallen in love? with it.
Their own veterinarian told them to simply make Sheeba as comfortable as possible and allow it to rest and develop antibodies to the infection.
The kitten returned to good health a few days later, however, their adult cat became severely ill. He was still ill as of Friday afternoon.
So Edwards phoned Paquette to complain again.
Paquette told them their cats ?had the sniffles? and he wasn?t to blame for their adult cat becoming sick, said Edwards.
Paquette says he would never intentionally sell a sick cat, but noted in a shelter as large as his, not every animal is going to be in perfect health.
?The kitten I sold them I believe to be healthy and it obviously developed a respiratory virus after a few days,? he said. ?An animal with a
respiratory virus is similar to humans in that you have to let it run its course.?
When the Edwards returned the kitten for a visit soon after purchasing it, a staff member at his shelter examined it and determined it didn?t require any emergency care, said Paquette.
The Edwards admit they have not vaccinated their adult cat in some time. However they insist Shadow hasn?t been sick in years and only became ill once exposed to Sheeba.
Failing to vaccinate their adult cat is the main reason their adult cat has become sick, said Paquette.
?Any responsible cat owner will have their cats vaccinated once a year,? he said. ?It?s not only good for their cat, but it?s the law.?
Paquette has been in charge of animal control for the City of Greater Sudbury since being awarded the contract in January.
Bryan Gutjahr, manager of bylaw enforcement for the city, said he?s heard nothing but good things about the job Paquette is doing.
All stray cats and dogs rounded up and brought to the shelter are cared for by Paquette and his staff for 72 hours, said Gutjahr.
?After 72 hours, if they?re not claimed, they belong to him and he?s allowed to adopt them out,? he said. ?From every report I?ve had, Mr. Paquette runs a very good business and we?ve had no complaints.?
Inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture make regular visits to all kennels and shelters. Gutjahr has received no complaints from the ministry.
Ideally, the Edwards want Paquette to at least pay some of the costs their sick cats have created.
Only a court date in small claims court will determine the final outcome.
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