The record, 25 juillet 2014, vendredi 25 juillet 2014

Sand sculpture in Ste-Cather-ine-de-Hatley Page 4 THE RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Run away from the screen Christine Blanchette - Page 16 t, WEEKEND EDITION 95 cents + taxes PM#(K)40007682 Friday, July 25, 2014 SPA sends 41 puppy-mill dogs to loving homes By Gordon Lambie Sherbrooke In the wake of the seizure of more than 200 dogs from a puppy mill in in Bonsecours on May 23, the Eastern Townships SPA, the region’s animal protection society, held two special adoption nights over the last week.The second of these was held Wednesday night at the society’s shelter on the north end of Sherbrooke, bringing people from all corners of the province to help the abused dogs find loving homes.“More than 200 dogs were seized, and since the more than 60 puppies have been born, bringing the total number of dogs to roughly 280,” explained Cathy Bergeron, communications representative for the SPA.“Because of our limited capacity, we took in only a certain number of those dogs at the SPA shelter.” The SPA representative explained that the animals taken in after the puppy mill bust, which was the second largest in the history of the province and the largest one that the SPA has dealt with in its 36 years of existence, were divided between different regional SPAs and SPCAs due to capacity issues.In total, the Eastern Townships SPA took in 60 animals for care.By the end of Wednesday night, 41 of the 60 had found new homes.Bergeron explained that almost immediately after the bust the SPA started to receive queries regarding the dogs.125 separate requests were made, and when it came time for the animals to be adopted, it was to those 125 people that the society turned first.Given the relatively small size of the SPA shelter on Queen Victoria Street, those interested in adopting were invited to two separate, private adoption nights.Upon arriving, those wishing to adopt were issued tickets indicating Cont’d on Page 5 Building a bike accident Police putting together the pieces of June’s deadly crash : - : * T:-.;''*! .ÏÈÊÂ few- mÊKÊk - ¦ GORDON LAMBIE SQinvestigators attempted to reconstruct the events of June’s fatal bike-truck accident.By Gordon Lambie Transport Quebec, and a team of inves- Using a variety of tools in combina- Sherbrooke tigators from the Sherbrooke Police Ser- tion with the same transport truck in- vice was working meticulously volved in the accident and a pair of Before a scattering of concerned on- Thursday morning to walk through the dummies, the investigators closed off lookers in the gathering light of circumstances of the accident that two lanes of the downtown Aylmer dawn, a Sûreté du Quebec recon- caused the death of Déliska Bergeron in Bridge and a section of Saint-Francois struction expert, representatives of early June.Cont’d on Page 3 THE—" RECORD SPECIAL OFFER for Record print subscribers: Receive a full year’s subscription to the online edition for only $5 with every new 12 month print subscription or renewal.Read The Record online any time, any place Subscribers can view each new issue of The Record, as well as Brome County News, The Townships Outlet and our many special sections with just the click of the mouse.To subscribe, go to www.sherbrookerecord.com, click on e-dition and follow the simple instructions.For information or assistance call 819-569-9528 billing@sherbrookerecord.com Page 2 Frïday, July 25, 2014 The Record e-edition There for you 24-hours-a-day 7-days-a-week.Wherever you are.Access the full edition of The Sherbrooke Record as well as special editions and archives.Renew or take a new 12-month print subscription and get a 12-month online subscription for an additional $5 or purchase the online edition only for $82.21.Record subscription rates 1 year print: $155.91 6 month print: $81.85 3 month print: $41.57 12 month web only: $82.21 1 month web only: $7.46 Applicable taxes are added to above amounts.Web subscribers have access to the daily Record as well as archives and special editions.Subscribing is as easy as 1,2,3 when you go to www.awsom.ca Click Subscribe.Choose newspaper.Complete form and wait for an email activating your online subscription.Weather \ f , TODAY: * 1 / SUNNY, LATE X" CLOUDS HIGH 25 LOW 13 '1 SATURDAY 30% CHANCE OF SHOWERS HIGH 22 LOW 13 SUNDAY ^ SHOWERS HIGH 23 LOW 14 }J i J ! MONDAY RAIN HIGH 19 LOW 16 «* I .J 1 j TUESDAY 60% CHANCE OF SHOWERS HIGH 19 LOW 16 newsroom@sherbr ookerecord.com The Record Traditional music group Agincourt coming to Compton historic site By Matthew McCully Special to The Record Compton The Louis S.St.Laurent National Historic Site in Compton will feature a musical performance by traditional group Agincourt this Sunday, July 27, in the garden.Two performances are scheduled, at 2 p.m.and 3:30 p.m.and will take place under a tent, rain or shine.“We used to have concerts in the garden all the time,” said François Drouin, coordinator at the historic site in the hometown of Louis St.Laurent, Prime Minister of Canada between 1948-57.“Last year we didn’t do it because we wanted to focus on different weekend events, but we decided to bring the concerts back this year,” Drouin said, adding, “they were really popular.” The concerts in the garden used to attract between 80-100 people, according to Drouin.“We have to re-create the culture,” he' said, hoping to keep locals and tourists coming back regularly for shows.“We tried several formulas,” Drouin said, regarding the types of concerts they host.“People of the townships really like traditional music, and it fits with the museum.It doesn't matter if it’s Anglophone or Francophone, they just love it,” he said.The group Agincourt, who will perform on Sunday, play a mix of traditional Irish, Scottish, and Québécois music.Featuring Alan Jones on bagpipes, guitar, and flute, Joanne St-Lau-rent on Celtic harp, and Ralph Thompson on violin, the group has developed a unique sound over the last 20 years.Admission to the concert, which is $7.80 for adults, $6.80 for seniors, and $3.90 for youths, includes entrance into the museum as well.Drouin said Agincourt will play two different sets of music, so patrons are welcome to come for the first set at 2 p.m., and then spend some time enjoying the museum and gardens until the musicians resume playing at 3:30 p.m.On the grounds of the heritage site are the childhood home of Louis St.Laurent, and a re-creation of a general store similar to the one St.Laurent’s father ran at the beginning of the 20th century.The last resident of the home was St.Laurent’s sister, who died there in 1972.Ninety per cent of the objects in the house are original, according to Drouin.Following Sunday’s concert, the historic site will play host to the event Country Flavours during the first weekend-in August.The two-day event will include roughly 20 local producers from the region showcasing their products.The ticket price includes samples from the different vendors, Drouin said.In past years, the local showcase has attracted close to 1,500 visitors throughout the weekend, he added.The Louis S.St.Laurent Historic site is located at 6790 Louis S.St.Laurent Route in Compton, approximately 20 minutes from Sherbrooke.For more information about the museum and the upcoming concerts and events, call 819-835-5448 or email infor-mation@pc.gc.ca.COURTESY Seen here, Les Madeleines performing at the Louis S.St.Laurent National Historic Site in Compton last weekend.This Sunday, Traditional music group Agincourt will take the stage under the tent in the garden of the heritage site.On Wednesday’s front-page story, Wales Home resident and centenarian Berneth Beattie was misidentified in the story and photo caption as Beatrice.A headline on Page 2 of Thursday’s Corrections edition incorrectly referred to “Cité du Parc”, rather than the “Place de la Cité” as the venue for the outdoor documentary film screenings.Finally, a headline on Page 7 ofThurs-day’s edition referred to part ofVermont as the “Northest” Kingdom.While the Northeast Kingdom is relatively far north, the northernmost, or “northest”, kingdom is, in fact, Denmark.The Record regrets the errors.Ben by Daniel Shelton Yeah.poor 1 /MRYJANC .1 5HEPIEP ABOUT, THi?rrYk\£5 J AGO MOW.WE NEVER KEPT IN TOUCH AFTER SHE MOVEPTO CALIFORNIA WELL,SHE WAS ROI NO GREAT/GOT MARRIED, MAP TWO KIRS-THE WHOLE PACKAGE’.saial then cancer struck | but her sons t ieret im sure HER DOWN INKER MID-THIRTIES^—-' il-f WOW SENS-." I he Record newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com Friday,"July 25, 2014 Page 3 Nr EW' The pilot project will compel those using the motorized scooters to he equipped with reflectors and an orange triangular pennant '¦ Ammonia leak leads to brief evacuation of BU sports centre By Gordon Lambie Lennoxville The Bishop’s University Sports Centre was forced to close on Thursday morning after the refrigeration system for the new arena being built in the complex sprang a leak, spilling toxic ammonia into the building.According to Michel Caron, director of Buildings and Grounds for the University, the leak was a small one that came about as a result of the system not yet being complete.“The system is not operational yet,” Caron said, indicating that work was being done on it prior to the start of the construction holiday.“The system was closed, but there is still ammonia pressure in it, and (the fire department) found a leak caused by solder on a pipe that was too weak.” Caron explained that the alarm system, which is designed to go off when ammonia density in the air reaches 25 parts per million, started to go off at around 8 a.m.As a result the building was evacuated, but the quick response of the Sherbrooke fire department and the small scale of the leak meant that the complex could be re-opened before the lunch hour.“They identified the leak, they closed the valve and now everything is back to normal,” Caron said, “the leak was very small, but we have to take ammonia seriously, because it is corrosive.” The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety identifies ammonia as both corrosive and highly toxic, causing life-threatening damage to the respiratory system in high enough concentrations.At 25 ppm, however, the gas will only cause mild irritation of the airways, and that only after several hours of exposure.“This happened because the refrigeration system is in a debugging phase right now,” Caron explained.“Once it’s all debugged and has all the proper controls installed there will be no more such problems." He continued by pointing out that many arenas in the world and specifically in the city of Sherbrooke use ammonia-based refrigeration systems without any issue.He said that Thursday morning’s leak was sealed and that work has already been done to ensure that it does not happen again.Further to that, he reiterated the fact that the finished system is not likely to be a threat to the public, even if it does leak.“The ammonia is only in the mechanical room, there are no pipes with ammonia going to the arena or to any other room,” Caron explained, “If there’s a detection of 25 parts per million in the mechanical room the alarm goes off and the ventilation system exhausts all the air in the room.” Quebec aims to clarify scooter rules Record Staff Sherbrooke The Ministry of Transport has acted to fill a gap in the laws surrounding motorized transport in order to take into account the increasing presence of motorized mobility scooters and wheelchairs.Current regulations don’t cover the machines and the Quebec government is creating a pilot project to correct the oversight.“There was a gray zone, making cohabitation with motorists, cyclists and others more difficult,” says the Ministry of Transport’s Sarah Bensadoun.“Our Reconstruction Cont’d from Page 1 Street in order to better understand just what went wrong to result in the death of the 30-year-old mother of three.“Above all, we’re looking at the position of the vehicle and the pedestrians to see if there’s something we’re missing in the investigation,” explained René Dubreuil, spokesperson for the SPS.“It’s a matter of blind-spots and positioning; there are many factors to consider Started at 5:30 a.m.to avoid having an impact on the morning traffic, the scene of the reconstruction was surrounded by a cool stillness uncharacteristic of summer in the city, and a strange sense of time moving backwards and forwards in tiny increments as investigators staged and re-staged different elements of the accident.“We know just about where she was hit, and we know what part of the truck she hit,” Dubreuil continued.“This morning we did a number of tests to see how the vehicle would have to turn so those two points match up exactly.” With every re-positioning of the eighteen-wheeler, marked as the property of Travelers Transportation Services, a new goal is to ensure the safety of everybody.” The pilot project will compel those using the motorized scooters to be equipped with reflectors and an orange triangular pennant.At night, a white light in the front and a red one in the rear will be required.The new regulations, which will be in place on a trial basis for three years, will ban these vehicles from roads where the speed limit is greater than 50 kilometers per hour, but may use the shoulder of such roads (up to 70 km/h) if no sidewalk or bike path is nearby.In recent weeks, accidents involving these vehicles have raised the question of their safety on the roads.path was sprayed out on the ground with an array of coloured paints, one colour per path.According to Dubreuil, on the day of the accident the truck turned onto King from a full stop, and struck Bergeron right around the middle of the back set of wheels on its trailer while she and another cyclist walked their bikes across the street.One officer on the scene speculated, based on the reconstruction, that the two cyclists may have underestimated the turn radius' of the truck as it made the right hand turn onto Sherbrooke’s main street.Not wishing to jump to any conclusions, however, Dubreuil simply said that the SPS were working to understand the situation to the best of their ability and with the information they have.Once completed, the SQspecialist will be handed over to the SPS for use in their investigation.The accident that killed Bergeron took place around 11 a.m.on June 9 as Bergeron, a native of Racine, and a friend crossed King Street to get to the bike path in the direction of Lennoxville.Quebec eases booze transport regs Record Staff Life just got a little easier for travelling Quebec drinkers as the government has announced new regulations that will finally allow individuals to transport alcoholic beverages purchased elsewhere in Canada into Quebec for personal consumption.The new regulation sets the allowable amounts at nine 1 of wine (equivalent to 12 750-ml bottles), three 1 of spirits, and 24.6 1 of beer (three 24-bottle cases), the same amounts allowed to be carried into Ontario.“Quebec was the only province that didn’t allow a citizen to possess and carry alcoholic beverages purchased elsewhere in Canada,” said Finance Minister Carlos Leitào on making the announcement, citing recent changes to federal and proviciai law as permitting the change.“Our government insisted that the regulation on the transport of alcohol be adapted to today's reality.This initiative will now allow consumers to bring alcoholic beverages purchased in other Canadian provinces back to Quebec for their personal consumption, as they could already on their return to Canada from abroad,” added Public Security Minister Lise Thériault.Leitao pointed out, however that the prohibition against alcohol being delivered from another province remains in force, unless done through the SAQ.“The SAQ remains a world leader in the selection and sale of wines and spirits and thereby allows Quebecers to enjoy shopping experiences that meet their highest requirements,” he said.The corner is the site of the city’s only bicycle-specific traffic light, which is judged to have been operating properly at the time of the accident and is under the jurisdiction of Quebec’s Ministry of Transport.Société Récréative de North Hatley The North Hatley Recreation Society présente • presents Û Fpl!VAL DE MUSIQUE MUSIC FESTIVAL Parc Dreamland Park-North Hatley, QC Jllly 26 juillet 19 h — 21 H • 7 ~ 9ptri Beat! temps, mauvais temps Wes/i—Reggae / World Beat Rain or shine July 27 juillet 12 h - 13 h • 12 - ipnV Quatuor Baroque Hatley Hatley Baroque Quartet L’horaire complet du festival Complete festival schedule yjort|, i,nt|P„ www.northhatleyrec.com/concerts.htm *Kn cis de pluie, le^ concerts du dimanche set nut présenté- Vi h dans l’Église Unitarienne Universaliste située au 15 ru _ _ Gagnon North Hatley MttnpfafmagOg *ln case ot rain.Sunday concerts will he heid at ipm m the M Unitarian Universahst Church.J5 rue Cagn - • Nurth h .Nos commanditaires Our sponsors RECORD æ: tort» >~C)> * na (( Phc vxWLTt es r j A — YV* Page 4 Friday,July 25, 2014 newsroom@sherhrookerecord.com The Record Sand jazz By Matthew McCully Special to The Record S tl-Catherine-de-Hatley Locals and tourists alike have been rubbernecking at the site of a large sand sculpture of Jazz musicians near the centre of town in Sainte-Cather-ine-de-Hatley.Tire sculpture, carved by Stéphane Robert, was commissioned by the town, and will, weather permitting, remain intact for the rest of the summer.“Let’s have a band playing in the park for the summer,” Robert said, explaining the juxtaposition of cool cats jamming in the middle of a serene country landscape.“It was kind of inspired by Ray Charles.I was thinking of him,” he said.The Record got wind of the strange site when a curious passer-by suggested the paper rush over for a picture before it rains.“Rain is not a problem,” Robert laughed.Sand can tolerate a fair amount of water, and the rest will just drain through into the ground, he said.“The problem is when there is a heavy downpour,” he added.An even bigger problem is dry weather with a lot of wind, which can dehydrate the sculpture and cause it to crack.When asked what the mystery ingredient was holding everything together, Robert said nothing but water and sand.Robert starts by wetting and com- band in Sainte-Catherine MATTHEW MCCULLY : ' ; : : ¦ y » $'¦ .[it.¦ Spi* Artist Stéphane Robert spent a week preparing and carving 20 tons of sand to create the jazz band sculpture featured in Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley.pacting the sand, which makes the grains brick together.He can then begin carving.“When it’s all done, I will mix some glue with a bit of water to spray over the sculpture, just to keep the details.” Robert usually works with sand in the summer, and snow or ice in the winter.He is also known to work with wood.Styrofoam, and has even tried his hand with chocolate.I’m used to carving in many mediums, I can adapt,” Robert said.The jazz band sculpture is made with 20 tons of sand, and took a full week to complete, according to Robert.“We don’t calculate by hours,” he said.“We calculate by days,” adding that some days he works well over 10 hours.“You can’t carve with loose sand,” Robert explained.When the sand was delivered, he spent most of the first day de-Hatley splitting, wetting and compacting the sand, just to make it sculptable.“I’ll be able to re-use that sand for 4-5 years,” he said.Sand sculpture is very popular in Europe, where Robert heads each year to participate in group sculpting events and competitions.He is hoping, with his sculptures in the Townships, to pique interest in Quebec and get more artists involved in the environmentally friendly art medium.Last year, he did four sculptures in different towns.This year, his jazz band is accompanied by another work in Austin.“Everybody thinks you have to go to the sea to carve something.The only experience people have is making sand castles when they were kids,” Robert said.“I’m working hard to put this into the minds of people.” This past spring in Denmark, Robert was one of 40 carvers working with 8000 tons of sand on a two week event.The sculptures attract thousands of visitors throughout the summer.“We have nothing like that in North America right now,” he said.“It won’t last all year, but it should be all right for the rest of the summer,” Robert said, referring to his jazz band on the hill.In the fall, he will cover the sand with a tarp to keep it clean and free of debris, and hopefully return in the spring to create a new sculpture for residents and tourists to enjoy next summer.Richmond Historical Society exhibition and high tea set for Sunday By Claudia Villemaire Record Correspondent Melbourne Township The Richmond Historical Society has a busy weekend planned.“Our traditional 'high' tea, where the best tea cups and teapots come out of their packing material, many of them originally from local family china cabinets and donated to the museum, re-appear.We don't expect folks in white gloves and fancy hats,” said Society president Beverly Taber-Smith.“We just hope folks will drop by for tea, a tradition each year that dates back forty years or more.” Tire weekend activity includes an exhibition and explanation of local artist Richere Orzechowski with her most re- cent works of art on silk, orzechowski will be present both days including tea time Sunday.“This traditional event is a major fund raiser for us, Taber-Smith explained.The building housing the museum requires major maintenance, “but our biggest challenge so far is finding a new home for our archives.The Melbourne Township has generously allowed us to use a space in their town hall for the past twelve years, but they will need that space by next year.So the challenge to find a new location is made more difficult because there really isn't a proper space available in the museum itself.” Taber-Smith and archivist Esther Healy admit they have a difficult task ahead.The museum, now over fifty years in existence, has an ever-growing archives library, “and we have to either rent a space, purchase another building that could house both museum and archives and of course, consider the difficult challenge of raising funds whatever solution is found," Healy emphasized during a telephone interview last week.“But, for now, we're keeping the popular traditions alive, planning a major fund-raiser for the Fall and simply hoping this weekend will dawn sunny and not too warm.An old fashioned tea in the living room or on the broad expanse of our gallery is a great way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.Saturday, the museum welcomes Richere Orzechowski and her exhibition continuing through Sunday.” Orzechowski is a dyed-in-the-cloth artist, true to her talent, very reluctantly willing to part with her paintings, prodiguous and prolific in her creations - these days transforming the misty silk material she works her magic in and on into ethereal creations of splashy coloured flowers in a misty colourful background.Techniques do not stump her for long.With several ways to work art onto silk such as batik, salt, sugar and shubiro, Orzechowski, with perhaps photographed images of flowers beginning to take form in her imagination, decides on the several methods of either dyeing, washing with color, using wax or sugar or salt, rolling into tight rolls or squeezing into a wrinkled ball, tying tiny patches in raised bumps on the fabric or with her “resist,” a non-toxic chemical which she has coloured outlinging flower petals and leaves.“There are so may ways to create beautiful images,” the passionate artist and avid gardner explains.Always ready to try something new, these time- and patience-consuming projects have turned to Nuno Felt making, a process that requires layers of wool fibres, carefully layered in an interlocking pattern, pressed btween to more rigid materials and painstaking process of needle-picking begins.She has been focusing on handbags and matching scarves durintthe most recent months.Her creations are ruffled and colorful, and her own decorative designs with appliques, beads or sparkling outlines with hand-embroidered finishing touches are ready for her exhibition at the Richmond Historical Society Museum on Saturday and Sunday.There’s a rack of nearly one hundred silk scarves ready, too.The colorful flowers on a background that stirs the viewers appreciation of beauty, flowers so real, the rippling silk scarf brings them to life tempting a person to perhaps sniff a blossom as though in a garden.CLAUDIA VILLEMAIRE Pi a , Richere Orzechowski stands in a garden displaying one of her works.e Bravehearts benefit night at The Piggery Theatre Come see the awarding-winning comedy “Harvest” starring Karen Cromar and Glen Bowser at the Piggery Theatre on Saturday, July 26 at 8 p.m.and a portion of the sales will be donated to The Bravehearts Relay for Life team.Enjoy a beautiful evening of summer theatre all the while supporting a wotiderful cause! Help us BEAT CANCER! Tickets: reduced price of $20.Info: Kelly McBean 819-820-8089 The Bravehearts will not rest until a cure is found! I he Record newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com Friday, July 25, 2014 Pages Wildlife Service comes down hard on Memphremagog poachers Record Staff The Quebec Wildlife Protection Service is taking aim at poachers on Lake Mem-phremagog and is pulling out the stops.Since Wednesday, fifty ministry officials have been mobilized to talk to some 25 people suspected of catching, buying, or selling fish illegally.The Service recently completed an investigation that began in 2011, says Sergeant Gilles Chiasson, from the Ministry’s regional office.“We are talking about exceeding the limit of yellow perch, lake trout, and landlocked salmon.We have seized the fish and boats,” says Chias- son.“We spoke to fishermen, but also buyers.You should know that it is as forbidden to buy sport fish as it is to sell it,” he adds.Chiasson estimates that about 70 charges could be filed as a result of the investigation and those found guilty are liable to fines of up to $50,000.The majority of those charged come from the Memphremagog area, but some individuals from the Montérégie and Centre-du-Quebec are also under investigation.Chiasson adds that no restaurateur is accused of being party to the illegal fishing.“We aren’t talking about a ‘ring,’” he says.“The individuals are not con- nected.” The Ministry estimates that tons of fish have been removed illegally from the lake illegally over the past few years and how much has entered the black market.“It is important not to encourage illegal fish sellers.Always inquire about the origin of fish before you buy,” he says.Close call for truck driver Record Staff A 30-year old truck driver is lucky to be alive after a loss of control over his vehicle, sending him off the road where the cabin of the truck was pierced by a roadside tree in 1’Avenir.It took firefighters over half an hour and the ‘jaws of life’ to extricate the driver, who was literally pinned inside by the tree, which missed him by only a few centimetres.Witnesses at the scene said they were surprised that the driver wasn’t killed.The driver, who was celebrating his 30th birthday, suffered serious, but not life threatening, leg injuries.Although the cause of the incident is not yet known, police believe the weight of the vehicle and a minor landslide caused by the heavy rain may have been factors.The accident could have been caused by the weight of the truck and a landslide along the road caused by heavy rains.Minor fine for major infraction Record Staff A 17-year-old caught “carsurfing” avoided a hefty fine Monday night in Brome-Missisquoi, because of his status as a minor.At about 11:15 that evening, officers on routine patrol “noticed a man sitting on a suitcase in a moving car in the parking lot of a supermarket on Du Sud Street in Cowansville,” says Sûreté du Québec regional spokesperson Sgt.Melanie Du- maresq.The driver, a 17-year-old resident of Farnham, was issued a ticket under section 433 of the Highway Safety Code, which forbids allowing anyone to ride on the exterior of a moving vehicle.“This ticket results in the loss of 12 demerit points,” says Sergeant Dumaresq.Although the fine for car surfing is normally set at $1290 (including costs), the driver in this case got away with a single $100 fine because section 233 of the Quebec Code of Criminal Procedure, states that a fine for a minor cannot exceed that amount.In addition to the issuance of a ticket, police have the power to suspend the license of the persons involved and seize the vehicle for a period of seven days.“We want to remind people that such actions are very dangerous and no tolerance from the police can be expected for this kind of behavior,” Dumaresq concluded.SPA Adoption their arrival time.Small groups were then admitted to the shelter where they were given a brief information session before being invited in to view the dogs.Bergeron said that all of the dogs were small breeds such as Shi-tzu.Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Yorkshire and other terriers.They range in age from two and a half months and eight years and were all sterilized, vaccinated, treated for worms, and implanted with microchips that serve as a digital tag the SPA can use to identify a runaway.The SPA representative said that the first adoption night went very well with 28 of 29 available dogs having been adopted either on that day or the days after.“Be patient with them,” the volunteer leading the first information session of the night on Wednesday said to the prospective adopters, explaining that even in the case of the older dogs, these are not animals that have ever known any kind of training or decent life.She emphasized the need for close care and attention, and emphasized that the dogs might display erratic behaviours given the circumstances they lived in for most of their lives.“I really want to rescue a puppy." said Mona, the mother of an Lnglish family of four who had come to the event from Montreal.“I’m jumping out of my skin and trying to convince night GORDON LAMBIE » ' This is one of the 41 dogs rescued from a puppy mill in Bonsecours that the Eastern Townships SPA has adopted out.my husband to take two or three home.” Hie prospective adopter explained that she had followed the story of the seizure from day one and made sure that she could be present when the adoptions took place.“I'm so ashamed'to be a Quebecer,” she added.“Because Quebec is the worst place for puppy mills.” Bergeron was not in a position to comment on the legal proceedings relating to the mill bust, as she said that that is in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, but she assured the public that the SPA would update the population when there was news.Though the legal limbo goes on, however, the SPA representative pointed out that as of the end of the private adoptions Wednesday night, there were 19 dogs still seeking homes above and beyond the animals the SPA takes in usually.Adoptions from the general public are, consequently, not just possible, but highly encouraged.Career ÇJBCS ; Bishop s ! Col'