CHESTER BASIN -- Barely recognizable as a cat, Big Girl was so malnourished the collar and chain around her neck weighed more than she did. She was gasping for air.

This image sends Linda Hardy from the room of her Chester Basin home in tears, though it's an image she's seen many times before -- and the reason she returns to the screen each time. Mrs. Hardy is half of HardHat Productions. She and friend Jen Hatcher have made a video slideshow of more than 40 animal abuse cases. They want the Criminal Code strengthened to deal more harshly with cases of animal cruelty, And they hope people will get so incensed by what they see on this DVD that they'll lobby their MP for change.

The video is called Keep Me Safe, and there is a link to it on the website of Ajax-Pickering MP Mark Holland. He introduced Bill C-373 in the House of Commons last October, calling for stiffer penalties for those who abuse or neglect animals.

Current law allows for a maximum fine of $2,000 and up to six months in jail.

--
full story:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9004188.html