Kiefer Giroux's sentencing hearing this year caused widespread condemnation for his abuse of a dog he was pet-sitting. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Shocking crime

Top Stories of 2021: Pet sitter sentenced for nearly beating a dog to death

Dec 30, 2021 | 7:39 PM

NANAIMO — Crimes against vulnerable members of society, whether they be people or pets, enrage the public on a different level.

Shocking animal abuse by a man trusted to take care of his neighbours’ dog in Nanoose Bay while they vacationed out of the country gained national media attention.

Kiefer Tyson Giroux, now 27-years-old, was sentenced on May 5, 2021 in Nanaimo to six months jail after he pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal.

Highly disturbing abuse unleashed by Giroux occurred over several days in December 2019 at a Nanoose Bay property, resulting in a $9,000 emergency vet bill.

Audio from a high quality video system integral to convicting Giroux captured him abusing an 11-year-old Belgian Milinois named Xaskaa.

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A graphic segment of the abuse was played in court, where Xaskaa’s cries for pain reverberated in the courtroom. Giroux didn’t say anything while abusing the defenceless animal.

Giroux’s torturous assault caused substantial bruising to the dog’s abdomen, elbow, internal organs and genitals

Court was told a neighbour heard the animal crying in distress, describing the sounds as “horrible, really loud, not like a regular dog cry.”

Giroux casually answered the door, telling the dog was fine.

He then brought the dog over to his mother’s house on Christmas Eve, who told her to immediately get the dog into emergency care since Xaskaa was having a hard time breathing and couldn’t stand up.

On top the abuse itself, Giroux’s post-offence conduct was also deplorable.

Giroux took the dog to a Nanaimo emergency vet clinic where the animal was in critical condition, unresponsive and in immense pain.

The offender presented as extremely agitated, struggled to concentrate and voiced concerns about planned tests by animal care staff to provide more insight into the dog’s injuries.

An animal doctor estimated badly wounded Xaskaa would have died if it was brought in minutes later.

Giroux told a doctor at the vet clinic he wasn’t aware the dog sustained injuries and that it suddenly collapsed.

Giroux’s mental state formed a focal point of his lawyer rationalizing why his client lashed out the way he did.

Defence lawyer Chris Churchill said there were complicated reasons for Giroux’s behaviour, referencing underlying mental health issues and overall unhappiness with himself.

“He acknowledges that the harm occurs in the context of negative mood, disparaging thoughts about himself and hopeless thoughts about the future.”

Giroux stated he was: “not being myself, being unhappy, losing it, thinking I deserved to be hurt or something…I blame smoking weed 100 per cent. If I’m the way I am now I never would have done it.”

He stated he was suffering from a psychotic break and wasn’t in control of his thoughts and actions.

A pre-sentence report said Giroux abused the dog to cause pain and not for a sexual purpose. He admitted to digitally penetrating the animal.

A psychiatrist determined Giroux poses a moderate to high risk of family and intimate violence and a low to moderate risk for further harming animals or child physical abuse or neglect.

Victim impact statements from the dog owners outlined the profound emotional toll the ordeal had on them, including a destroyed 2019 Christmas.

The abuse profoundly impacted Xaskaa’s owners, Jayson and Milagros Henkel. Their South American vacation was runed.

They heard about Xaskaa’s harrowing medical state on Christmas Eve.

The couple blasted what happened to their pet on social media following Giroux’s sentencing hearing to raise awareness. The couple spoke at length with NanaimoNewsNOW about their desire for stronger animal abuse laws in Canada.

He paid back $10,193 in restitution to the victims, representing their vet bill and the $500 he was owed for house sitting.

Giroux was also handed three years probation and banned from being in the presence of pets with the exception of his parents’ cats for 25 years.

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