A dog with broken bones was found allegedly dumped inside a garbage bin at a Vancouver park.
Around 7:15 p.m. on April 2, Terry Sparrow and his fiancée Krista Brisk were walking on Camosun Trail in Pacific Spirit Park when they found a dog in “terrible condition” in a trash can.
Sparrow was throwing out a piece of gum in the garbage when he was startled.
"I could see it was an animal, and it was moving,” he told Glacier Media Friday morning.
He called Brisk over and together they saw a toy poodle in the garbage can with a piece of garbage over it.
“It looked like it was injured, in pretty bad shape. He smelled bad,” said Sparrow. "It was just frightened out of his mind and in shock."
They were both in “complete shock” and could not believe what they discovered.
A video they captured at the park shows the pair looking around while Brisk is holding the dog.
"Are you OK?" said Brisk to the dog. "Why would anybody do that?”
They jetted out of the park and took the dog home to wash it off and feed it.
“You could see it was injured, it wasn't able to walk, it was so weak,” he said.
The couple called University RCMP, SPCA, park rangers and City of Vancouver animal services to report the incident. An investigation has been launched by University RCMP to “determine the complete circumstances and anyone with information is asked to contact police at 604-224-1322.
"Part of the ongoing investigation includes a canvas for video in the surrounding area," said Sgt. Vanessa Munn. "We also encourage anyone with dashcam footage from the area or anyone who may have witnessed someone with the dog on April 2 to contact police."
Anyone who kills, maims, wounds or injures a dog can be charged under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Sparrow, who lives on the Musqueam First Nation Reserve, said the couple would often walk their dog Reggie in the park. He recently passed away but they continued to walk the same routes.
“One of the walks he liked most was in the bog… it has significance to me as a Musqueam First Nation member. That's where our origin story comes from,” said Sparrow.
They brought the dog to Dunbar Animal Hospital and were told the dog had two to three broken ribs and possibly a dislocated hip and spinal compression.
“We want to make sure he is looked after asap, and perhaps we can find out who the owner is and why they would do this to this poor pooch," said Sparrow, adding they've been calling him Oscar from Sesame Street.
Laurie Schildt, a woman Sparrow knows, stepped up and offered to help care for the dog and paid for the vet bills. Schildt volunteers at Squamish Neighbourhood Animal Partnership and Protection and has a fundraiser for the dog.
"He was very dehydrated but is drinking water and ate last night and even sat up a bit,” said Schildt. "His injuries tell us he was either extremely abused or hit by a car.”
As an animal lover, Sparrow does not understand why anyone would discard a dog.
“It’s heartbreaking and I’m glad that we were there at the right time,” he said. “I'm still in shock. Who would throw a beautiful dog like that in the trash can of all places?"
Sparrow believes Reggie had a hand in the chance encounter, for having brought the couple to the park.
“He's still helping, you know, even after he's gone. So it's pretty cool.”
