Charges have been dismissed against four women accused of stealing dogs for Surrey-based A Better Life Dog Rescue.

Diane Faith Young Hale, 65, appeared in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey Thursday, when charges of possession of stolen property and break and enter were dropped.

The charges were laid in connection with incidents from Aug. 1 and 2, 2011, in Langley.

Charges were previously dismissed for Michaela Schnittker, Natalia Anna Borojevic and Christine Carter.

Schnittker, 47, of Richmond, was charged with theft and break and enter for an alleged incident in Richmond on July 9, 2010. Borojevic, 26, of Burnaby, was charged with theft in a Feb. 2, 2011, incident in Surrey.

Carter, 55, of Surrey, also was charged with theft, in connection with an alleged March 25, 2007, incident in New Westminster.

The charges were dismissed after all four women successfully completed alternative measures programs.

Alternative measures can be used in cases involving less serious offences and usually involve offenders with no criminal history.

The accused is given the opportunity to accept responsibility for the crime and make amends to the community outside the court system.

Janet Olson, founder and director of A Better Life, still faces 36 charges. She is alleged to have taken dogs in Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, Vancouver, White Rock, Richmond, Delta and New Westminster. A preliminary inquiry is scheduled for June.

In August, Louise Mary Alice Reid, 60, a former co-director of A Better Life, was given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty.

- Jennifer Saltman is a reporter with the Vancouver Province