RCMP probe ‘sickening’ case of animal abuse

Pet owners rally for tougher laws

Siobhan Todd and a friend were quadding south of Taber after school on Friday when they stumbled upon a lifeless black Labrador retriever near a fence post.

The teenagers stopped to investigate and were horrified and heartbroken at what they discovered.

“The first thing we noticed was the twine wrapped around the neck,” said 18-year-old Todd.

“The right side of the dog’s face was all mangled and there was blood everywhere.”

The dog was tied to a fence post and the friends noticed a steering wheel nearby. Todd said she tried to untie the twine from the dog’s neck, but it was too tight. Instead, she and her 16-year-old friend called her friend’s mom, who met up with the young women and called RCMP.

“It was honestly one of the most disgusting things I’ve seen. It was bizarre just to see that somebody could do that,” Todd said.

Taber/Vauxhall RCMP are investigating the suspected case of animal cruelty and have identified persons of interest in connection to the case.

Const. Mike Homeniuk said the dog, believed to be about two years old, was shot and beaten with a blunt object and had wounds to its head and body.

Mounties are awaiting the results of a necropsy, expected Monday or Tuesday, before they release any more details about the case.

Homeniuk said the case is both disturbing and unusual.

“It’s a defenceless dog, tied to the fence post and beaten ... It’s pretty sickening,” he said.

“It’s definitely alarming. Someone that would do that is more than likely capable of anything. It makes us definitely take a second look.”

Todd said a “Stop Animal Abuse Alberta” crowdfunding site has been set up to raise money for a reward leading to the conviction of someone in connection to the case.

Earlier this month more than 600 people donated $70,000 to a reward crowdfunding site launched by Vets To Go as a reward for information leading to a conviction after two animals were found dead in a Willow Park alley with their muzzles taped shut.

Hundreds gathered at Nose Hill Park to petition for tougher animal cruelty laws on Saturday while remembering the husky and kitten, who were found a week apart in a residential back alley in the 200 block of 99th Avenue S.E.