Lindsey Susan Hirtreiter charged with stabbing and torturing Labrador Retriever named Ryder

CANADA -- A young Surrey mother accused of torturing and horrifically injuring a family’s pet Labrador retriever has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty, and could face jail time.

Ryder was found stabbed, bound and beaten in a basement suite a day after disappearing from his family’s yard in the Chimney Heights neighborhood on Valentine’s Day 2014.

 

A blood-soaked 24-year-old woman in the suite claimed that the dog had attacked her young child, but the RCMP said its officers quickly realized the blood was coming from the whimpering, injured dog.

Lindsey Susan Hirtreiter, then 23 years old, was taken into custody by the RCMP for a psychiatric assessment, and her four-year-old daughter was removed by the Ministry of Children and Families.

The canine suffered some of the most gruesome injuries SPCA investigators have ever seen. Ryder suffered multiple lacerations in his throat from having multiple sharp objects, including lighters, metal jewelry, a fish hook, coins and a USB drive, shoved into his stomach.

Ryder's stomach contents included four lighters, a fish hook,
USB card, a coin, multiple metal jewelry pendants and
several raisins, which can be toxic for dogs. (CTV)

The dog showed signs of severe hemorrhaging on his eyes after pieces of metal were shoved into his eyelids and behind his eye socket, and had to undergo emergency surgery to save his eyesight.

“Animals are so vulnerable and they rely on us. And this dog, after all the abuse it went through, was still so trusting. It was still wagging its tail in the animal hospital,” BC SPCA Senior Animal Protection Officer told CTV Vancouver.

Ryder had metal objects shoved into his eyes as well.

Hirtreiter faces a maximum fine of $75,000, up to two years in jail and a lifetime ban on owning animals if convicted. A court date has not been set.

The dog’s owners raised $30,000 through crowdfunding to pay the vet bills.

(CTV - Aug 17, 2015)

Earlier:

• Surrey dog recovering from torture attack after arrest of blood-soaked woman