Vancouver Island man charged with animal cruelty in case of abandoned dog
Credit to Author: Jeff Beamish| Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:07:02 +0000
A Chemainus man has been charged with animal cruelty in the case of a German shepherd found in critical condition in early May.
The year-old dog, named Hope, was suffering from emaciation, dehydration, extreme muscle wasting and a severe neck wound when the B.C. SPCA took custody of her.
Hope had been abandoned in the woods and tied to a tree with a plastic-and-wire cable, said Marcie Moriarty, the B.C. SPCA’s chief prevention and enforcement officer.
She said it was a miracle that Hope survived.
“The cable was tied so tightly that her face was pressed to the tree and she could not lay down or move,” Moriarty said. “The wire was deeply embedded into her neck, causing such a massive wound that her jugular and trachea were exposed.”
Hope’s head was very swollen and the neck wound was full of maggots, she said, leaving her delirious and too weak to walk when found.
The dog was rushed to a Duncan veterinary clinic and then transferred to the West Coast Animal Veterinary Emergency Specialty Hospital, or WAVES, in Langford, where she was given around-the-clock treatment.
After many surgeries and months of care, Hope was adopted by Neil Roberts, the hospital administrator at WAVES.
Hope is a great pet, Roberts said.
“She’s very resilient and considering what she went through she’s pretty amazing,” he said. “She’s trusting and loving and she has no real issues anymore, except a little bit of leash aggression toward some dogs and some men.”
Roberts said he began considering adopting Hope after meeting her during her treatment. He said he had a dog that died about five years previously and had been thinking about getting another one.
He said he and Hope bonded after he began taking her home overnight.
“She fell in love with me and I fell in love with her. That was it.”
Kevin Timothy faces up to two years in jail, a fine of up to $75,000 and a lifetime ban on animal ownership.
The B.C. SPCA, which is a non-profit group funded mainly by donations from the public, investigates over 8,000 cases of animal cruelty annually.