One of the dogs’ owners said, “This is not justice.”
Feb 24, 2026 • Last updated Feb 24, 2026 •
Kaitlin Strong and Robert Jordan outside the Provincial Offences administration building in St. Thomas on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. The couple’s dogs were shot and killed during a coyote hunt in February 2025. (Brian Williams/The )
A man from Aylmer, age 27, has been ordered to pay a fine of $3,000 and has had his hunting licence revoked for a year after admitting guilt to two charges related to an incident that resulted in the death of two dogs last year.
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Brayden Clark appeared via video at the Provincial Offences administration building in St. Thomas on Monday afternoon and admitted guilt to two offences under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act connected to the shooting deaths of nine-year-old Mary Jane and three-year-old Hank-German shepherds owned by Kaitlin Strong and Robert Jordan-during a coyote hunt back in February 2025.
Clark pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm without due care while unlawfully possessing it for hunting purposes, which led to the death of one male German shepherd.
A second charge concerning Mary Jane’s death received a suspended sentence. A third charge regarding trespassing while hunting was dismissed.
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“A joint position on penalty has been presented to the court,” said justice of the peace Tara Oudekerk as she imposed a $3,000 fine along with a one-year suspension of Clark’s hunting licence.
“The court must revoke this individual’s licence to hunt or trap and issue an order preventing him from possessing or applying for any licence.”
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, prosecutor Jennifer Schmidtz mentioned that on Feb. 8, 2025, around 1:15 p. m., Strong let Mary Jane and Hank out at their rural home located about ten kilometers north of Aylmer.The couple searched for their dogs after hearing gunshots about fifteen minutes later; they found blood on the snow behind their home between approximately 2:30 p. m. and 3 p. m., according to court details. They then contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources after canvassing the area.
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An investigation revealed that Clark was coyote hunting with others when he used a scoped rifle on Feb.8; he mistakenly shot both German shepherds from roughly two hundred seventeen meters away thinking they were coyotes. He propped himself up with a utility pole because he had sustained an injury previously as stated in court.
Although he was part of a group at that time, he acted alone when firing those shots. Afterward, he took both dogs’ bodies back home without notifying the property owners where it happened. Clark only reported what happened to the Ministry of Natural Resources on February tenth, a Monday.Schmidtz read statements detailing how strongly Strong and Jordan were affected by losing Mary Jane and Hank.. This has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.. Strong referred to February eighth as starting a “horrific nightmare,” mentioning panic attacks that prevented her from working as a high school teacher- a job she loves-from February through September twenty twenty-five.. She stated, “Those months were the darkest of my life,” adding she still breaks down into tears whenever she thinks about her dogs.. <g.
Although he was part of a group at that time, he acted alone when firing those shots. Afterward, he took both dogs’ bodies back home without notifying the property owners where it happened. Clark only reported what happened to the Ministry of Natural Resources on February tenth, a Monday.Schmidtz read statements detailing how strongly Strong and Jordan were affected by losing Mary Jane and Hank.. This has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.. Strong referred to February eighth as starting a “horrific nightmare,” mentioning panic attacks that prevented her from working as a high school teacher- a job she loves-from February through September twenty twenty-five.. She stated, “Those months were the darkest of my life,” adding she still breaks down into tears whenever she thinks about her dogs.. <g.
