Appeal under s. 38 of Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 13.
Between
Carol-Lynn Zettler and Shawn Zettler
Appellants
and
Chief Animal Welfare Inspector
Respondent
MOTION DECISION AND ORDER
Adjudicator: Alisa Chaplick, Vice-Chair For the Appellants: Carol-Lynn Zettler, Self-Represented For the Respondent: Kelly Fan, Counsel Linsey Hay, Inspector, AWS Heard by Videoconference: October 28, 2025
BACKGROUND
1Carol-Lynn Zettler and Shawn Zettler, the Appellants, are the custodian and owner, respectively, of an American Bull type dog named Nova.
2On September 17, 2025, Animal Welfare Service (“AWS”) Inspector Linsey Hay served an order (“Order”) on the Appellants pursuant to section 30(1) of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 13 (PAWS Act).
3The Order’s requirements included that the Appellants had to have Nova examined by a veterinarian and follow the recommendations made by the veterinarian by October 1, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.
4The Appellants appealed the Order to the Animal Care Review Board (“Board”) on September 19, 2025 (“Appeal”), citing various reasons for the Appeal, including an inability to pay for veterinarian costs.
5The parties participated in a case conference on September 26, 2025.
6The matter proceeded to a videoconference hearing on October 28, 2025.
7The Chief Animal Welfare Inspector (the “Respondent”) brought a motion dated October 8, 2025, asking the Board to dismiss the Appeal. The motion stated that the Appeal was moot since the Order was revoked as Nova was removed from the Appellants by AWS on October 1, 2025.
8The preliminary motion was heard before the merits hearing. If the motion was unsuccessful, the merits hearing would proceed immediately thereafter. After hearing submissions from both parties on the motion, I made an oral decision stating that the Respondent’s motion was successful and that written reasons would follow. These are the written reasons. As noted in my oral decision, because the motion was granted, the hearing on the merits was cancelled.
DECISION
9The Board grants the Respondent’s motion to dismiss the Appeal. The Order being appealed was revoked by AWS on October 1, 2025, as Nova was removed by AWS on October 1, 2025. The Appellants were provided with written notice of this on October 2, 2025. Since the Order has been revoked, the matter is moot. There is no remedy that the Board can order regarding the Appeal. As a result of this Motion Decision and Order, the Appeal is dismissed, and the matter will not proceed to a merits hearing.
ARGUMENTS
10Pursuant to s. 38(9)1 of the PAWS Act, the Board has the authority to confirm, revoke of modify an order made under s. 30 of the PAWS Act, such as the Order at issue in this matter.
11The Respondent stated that the Order under appeal has already been revoked by AWS. Accordingly, the matter is moot and there is no longer an issue for appeal. In addition, the Respondent stated that there is no remedy that the Board can provide to the Appellants regarding the revoked order. The Respondent provided the Board with a copy of the letter to the Appellants, dated October 2, 2025, which stated that the Order was revoked because Nova was removed from the Appellants by AWS on October 1, 2025.
12The Appellant stated that she is glad that Nova is now getting the care she needs. She also stated that it is a blessing that Nova is now receiving medical attention. I asked the Appellant if she would like to make any additional submissions specifically regarding the motion and she declined to do so.
13I accept the submissions of both parties and the October 2, 2025 letter stating that the Order at issue in this matter was revoked because Nova was removed from the Appellants. Since the Order was revoked, the matter is now moot and there is no longer an issue for the Board to decide on the appeal. There is no remedy that the Board can provide to the Appellants regarding the revoked Order. Accordingly, the Appellants’ Appeal is dismissed, and the matter will not proceed to a hearing on the merits.
ORDER
14The Respondent’s motion to dismiss the Appeal is granted. The Appeal will not proceed to a hearing on the merits as the Order under appeal was revoked. Accordingly, the matter is moot and there is no longer an issue for the appeal. In addition, there is no remedy that the Board can provide to the Appellants regarding the revoked order.
Released: November 5, 2025
______________________
Alisa Chaplick, Vice-Chair