This comic shows actus reus and the mens rea of criminal negligence. The actus reus in this comic was the person’s act of leaving his dogs in his car for an extended period of time, which caused unnecessary pain and suffering for the animals as a result of the car’s interior heating up to dangerous temperatures due to the hot weather. The mens rea of criminal negligence is shown in the comic because the consequences and danger of leaving dogs in a car in sunny weather for an extended period of time should have been realized by the dog owner, as he is in a position of power over his dogs and is the person responsible for their well-being, yet he still made the conscious decision to leave them there. A reasonable person would have easily recognized these consequences at the time, and choose to act otherwise as to not put their pets in grave danger. The dog owner in this comic would be charged with cruelty to animals under sections 445.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes the act of causing or permitting unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal, as he caused his dogs to unnecessarily suffer by leaving them in a hot car. If this is ruled as an indictable offense, the punishment is a maximum five year imprisonment, and if it is ruled as a summary offense, the punishment is a maximum fine of $10,000 and a maximum two year imprisonment, as described in sections 445.1(2)(a) and (b).
Storyboard Text
Be right back Clifford and Spot – I have to stop by the pet store to get a few things. I promise I won't take long!
20 minutes later...
Yep, it's nice and sunny. I think it's about 30 degrees out!
The weather's beautiful isn't it?
Bark...bark...bark..(Someone please get us out of here!)
Woof.. Woof... Woof...(It's way too hot in here, when is he going to come back?)