Gull Lake couple appealing sentences in dog hoarding case
A Manitoba couple is appealing the sentences they received in February for hoarding dozens of dogs.
Peter Chernecki was sentenced to four months in custody while his wife, Judith, was fined $21,500 in what has been called one of the worst cases of animal hoarding in Manitoba's history.
The couple filed an appeal on Friday, their lawyer, Jay Prober, confirmed to CBC News.
"We say that's really unduly harsh because it's way out of whack with the precedents," he said Tuesday.
The couple pleaded guilty last year to seven counts under the Animal Care Act, after officials seized 64 dogs from their Gull Lake, Man., property in July 2010.
Many of the dogs were malnourished, wounded and covered in feces. At least 34 of the animals had to be euthanized after they were seized because they were in such poor condition.
Prober said he may apply to get Peter Chernecki, who has already served one month of his four-month sentence, out on bail pending the appeal.
"They're not criminals," he said of his clients. "Peter Cherecki [is] getting a more serious sentence than some criminals get."