Court dismisses charges against Finnish Guide Dog School employees in North Savonia

The North Savonia District Court has dismissed charges against two employees of the Finnish Guide Dog School. According to the court, almost all of the alleged animal welfare offenses were not substantiated, except for one instance. There was evidence of one individual dog being struck in August 2018, but as the statute of limitations had expired for that case, the charge was also dismissed.

The male and female defendants were accused of mistreating the guide dogs they trained, including using choke collars and other forms of harsh treatment in various locations including Espoo, Vantaa, Helsinki, and Mäntsälä between 2017 and 2019 during transfer situations. A male employee was alleged to have struck a dog on the head in two separate incidents and to have unnecessarily yanked dogs by their leashes. He was also suspected of frightening one trained dog by hitting a traffic sign.

The court deemed that the incident was part of a training session aimed at teaching the dog to evade obstacles, and no alternative methods were presented. The court also dismissed the charge of unnecessary leash yanking, finding no evidence that it caused the required pain or suffering.

The female employee was accused of repeatedly kicking a dog in the knee and pulling it by its choke collar, which was said to have caused harm. However, the court found no evidence for these claims either.

Additionally, the prosecutor sought a penalty for the Finnish Guide Dog School, claiming the CEO was either complicit or negligent in preventing the alleged offenses. The court ruled that there was no evidence the CEO was aware of or allowed the incidents to occur, leading to the dismissal of the demand for a corporate fine. The state has been ordered to cover around €40,500 in legal costs for the parties involved. The ruling is not yet final.

The CEO of the Finnish Guide Dog School, Sakari Pekkanen, welcomed the court’s decision as the only reasonable outcome. He expressed frustration regarding what he described as a witch hunt fueled by a competitor, which has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of euros. Pekkanen stated he will await the prosecutor’s decision on whether to appeal before considering further actions with his lawyer.