I'll go camp with my 43 dogs, says Yukon kennel owner after losing appeal

Shelley Cuthbert, who lost her appeal last week against an injunction that would shut down her Tagish, Yukon, kennel, says she's angry and dismayed by the decision. 

She's also vowed to not euthanize any of the 43 dogs she still has on her property. She said all of them have behaviour problems and could not be adopted out. None are "good with kids," she said.

"If I can find a piece of property, which I'm working on now, I'll pack up all the dogs and off we go camping until I find a new home," she said after Friday's decision from the Yukon Court of Appeal.

"I better find some land pretty quick, and then go buy some fencing and put it up. Make some pens, get my tent, and away I go."

Cuthbert's legal troubles began two years ago, when a group of her neighbours sued her, complaining that her dog rescue facility was a noisy disturbance. Last October, they won an injunction that would restrict Cuthbert to keeping no more than two dogs on her property.

Cuthbert fought the decision, arguing the judge had been biased, and that the trial was flawed and unfair. The court of appeal disagreed, and threw out her appeal.

"I feel like my land rights, and my usage of my land, has not even been taken into consideration, whatsoever," Cuthbert said on Friday.

"Maybe there's a lawyer out there that actually would like to sit and look at this case," she said.

Cuthbert represented herself at the original trial, and at the Court of Appeal.

'Some relief' for neighbours, lawyer says

Lawyer Graham Lang, who represented Cuthbert's neighbours in court, said he wasn't surprised by the appeal court's decision. He also said he hopes it brings "some relief to the neighbours who are just looking to put this behind them."

He said the neighbours hope that losing her appeal will "bring Miss Cuthbert around."

"She hasn't taken any serious steps to date, and we're hoping that this final judgment will shake something loose here and Miss Cuthbert will finally start moving toward bringing some peace to this neighbourhood."

If Cuthbert doesn't immediately comply with the original court order, and start getting rid of dogs from the property, Lang said she may soon find herself back in court.

"The neighbours will have no choice but to go to court and get a ruling for contempt, and eventually to get a ruling for the sale of the property," he said.

Cuthbert insists she's fighting for her dogs' rights to live, and that she will never forfeit animals to the Yukon Humane Society.

"I know people say I'm stubborn, pigheaded — and I am. But I'm also looking out for the best interest of the dogs, and the public," she said.