Okanagan Humane Society ordered to pay $3,000 for adopting out owner’s pets

The Okanagan Humane Society has been ordered to pay $3,000 to a woman whose pets it adopted out without her permission.

According to an April 13 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, pet owner Tonya Robitaille had asked the Okanagan Humane Society to care for pets while she was hospitalized, but when she asked for their return, she was told they’d been adopted out.

“I find Ms. Robitaille did not abandon her animals, as she had a reasonable expectation based on recent past practice that Okanagan Humane Society would care for them and return them to her,” the Tribunal ruled.

The decision said that in May 2024, Robitaille was ill and agreed with the Okanagan Humane Society that it would provide temporary foster care for the animals.

A month later, she took her pets back, but weeks after getting them back, she asked the Okanagan Humane Society to care for them again as she was back in the hospital.

However, when she got out and asked for them back this time, the organization refused.

She then filed at the online small claims court to get them back.

The Okanagan Humane Society argued Robitaille had “essentially abandoned” her pets into its care.

The charity argued that its volunteer who picked the animals up, told her she was “doing the right thing” and it was admirable.

However, the Tribunal ruled that telling someone they are “doing the right thing” does not clearly show that she agreed to surrender them.

“Ms. Robitaille never actually said that she wanted to or agreed to surrender her animals. Instead, when (the Okanagan Humane Society volunteer) mentioned surrender, Ms. Robitaille said it was not supposed to happen again. While that statement is ambiguous, it is not clear agreement or consent,” the Tribunal ruled.

The Tribunal ruled that emails showed that Robitaille was not willingly and hadn’t agreed to surrender her animals for adoption.

The Okanagan Humane Society then changed its line of argument, telling the Tribunal it doesn’t provide temporary foster care.

However, the Tribunal pointed out that it had previously cared for Robitaille’s animals on a temporary basis.

“I place significant weight on the fact that there is no documentation indicating that Ms. Robitaille agreed to surrender her animals,” the Tribunal said. “I find the lack of supporting evidence strongly supports the conclusion that she did not surrender ownership of her animals.”

Parsing through the evidence, the Tribunal also found that the Okanagan Humane Society had purposely blocked Robitaille from getting her cats back.

The decision said that when Robitaille called in late August to get her animals back, she was told they’d already been adopted out.

However, Robitaille had a relative contact the Okanagan Humane Society, who then adopted two of the cats and returned them to her.

“I find this evidence is significant because it proves that Okanagan Humane Society deliberately blocked Ms. Robitaille from having the cats,” the Tribunal ruled. “Ms. Robitaille still owned the animals, had not surrendered them, and was entitled to their return.”

The Okanagan Humane Society made numerous arguments about the animals being in poor condition.

However, the Tribunal ruled the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was the only authority to take custody of animals in distress, and the Okanagan Humane Society had no legal authority to block Robitaille from accessing her pets.

Ultimately, because the pets had already been adopted out, the Tribunal said it didn’t have the power to get them back but ordered the Okanagan Humane Society to pay $3,000 in compensation, plus fees and interest.