The Maple Ridge, B.C., resident, who asked to be identified only as Mike, said that he brought two-year-old Buddy to the local SPCA in a bid to save his life.
"I didn't want him to die. I care about animals," Mike said, who also owns a second dog.
He said he was feeding Buddy regular dog food. "For some reason this one wouldn't put on any weight. Occasionally he made a mess on himself in his cage when we were out."
Mike said that he tried to shave the dog because he could not get him clean. "I didn't realize how thin he was until I started shaving him," he said.
"One day he collapsed in front of his cage and that's when I brought him in."
When Mike handed over the dog to the shelter, he claimed to have found it by the side of the road.
Mike said Wednesday that he didn't take the dog to a veterinarian because he had lost his job and didn't have the money to care for two dogs. He explained that he didn't identify himself to the shelter because he was scared of the consequences.
The B.C. SPCA is recommending criminal and animal cruelty charges against two people for the neglect of the dog, which was turned in on February 28.
Crown counsel has yet to approve the criminal and animal cruelty charges for permitting an animal to be in distress.
Under the criminal code, a conviction on that charge carries a possible jail sentence of six months, according to SPCA senior animal protection officer Eileen Drever. "That very, very rarely happens, unfortunately."
She said that the SPCA is hopeful that Buddy's owners will be given a lifetime prohibition against caring for animals.
Buddy weighed 10.5 kilograms when he was brought in, roughly a third the weight of an average golden retriever. Staff members on hand were shaken by the dogs appearance, Drever said.
"I've seen dogs in this condition before, but they have been dead; they've not been alive," she said.
The dog's owner describes himself as a caring man, and says he's been saddened by what's happened.
"I didn't think he was that bad off," he said.
"I'm praying every day that that dog makes it and eventually finds a good home."
(bc.ctvnews.ca - March 10, 2010)
