SPCA probes death of puppy left in parking lot
Shivering, dehydrated dog found in a box outside a Gatineau Walmart
The Outaouais SPCA is investigating the death of a months-old puppy that was left to die in a box outside a Gatineau Walmart Thursday morning.
Melissa Dumont, the director of the Sit With Me rescue organization, said a Walmart employee found the dog, Benz, and brought her to the SPCA.
Dumont was at the SPCA to assess other dogs in need of rescue when Benz arrived in critical condition. She was vomiting, shivering, dehydrated and was having great difficulty breathing. She likely would have died in pain within a few hours if she hadn’t been found, Dumont said.
Dumont knew that Benz needed emergency help right away so she wrapped the puppy in a blanket and put her in the car on top of hot water bottles to help warm up the severely hypothermic dog as she raced to an animal hospital.
“We didn’t think she was going to make it there,” Dumont said. “I needed a siren for the roof of my car.”
At the animal hospital, Benz was put on oxygen, was given antibiotics and had X-rays that showed an infection had spread through both of her lungs. The infection was left untreated for so long that Benz could barely breathe when she arrived at the hospital.
A veterinarian also discovered that Benz had fractured ribs and was urinating blood.
Benz fought to survive, but Dumont got a call around 4:40 a.m. Friday from the hospital. Dumont was heartbroken to learn that Benz had died from respiratory distress — but it was in the arms of an animal-hospital staff member.
“It was just too much for her little body to hold on,” Dumont said.
If your dog is sick, take it to a veterinarian, the SPCA or the Ottawa Humane Society, Dumont said.
The puppy’s death was preventable.
Benz could have survived if she had been taken to a clinic instead of being dumped in the Walmart parking lot, Dumont said.
“We’ll never forget Benz,” she said.