UPDATE: 4:15 p.m.
Cruelty Investigation Officer Kathy Woodward can now confirm that one of the three dogs seized from a Penticton home is emaciated and now in the care of a local veterinarian.
That dog was assessed with a score of “one” on the canine body conditioning scale of one to nine, denoting severe malnutrition. Five is the ideal number.
The two other dogs are considered a two on the scale or very thin.
All of the dogs have serious ear infections and grade-three dental issues, as well as yeast infections in their paws from walking on feces.
Woodward says she will be recommending criminal charges against the owner.
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UPDATE: 3:35 p.m.
The neighbour, who lives next door to a home where three dogs were seized, said she is happy the animals are currently in the care of the BC SPCA.
Laurie Price has been watching the dogs for sometime and said she feels terrible for how they’ve been treated.
“It was a happy moment when the SPCA came this morning, but it was also sad,” said Price.
She explained that two spaniels and a Rottweiler were kept in what she believes was a four-by-eight foot cage.
“The owners were never home, they almost never let the dogs out,” she said. “They were so skinny you could see their ribs. They would fill up a bucket with food and just throw it in the cage in the morning, on the ground with the feces. Then they wouldn’t feed them again until the next day."
The dogs were allegedly kept outside with little to no water in the hot summer months and in the frigid winter, including a few weeks ago when temperatures dipped down to -20 C in Penticton.
“I offered to walk the dogs a couple of times, but the owner declined.”
A jug of anti-freeze was also reported to be next to the cage when the dogs were seized by the SPCA constables.
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ORIGINAL: 1:30 p.m.
The SPCA has seized three dogs in Pentiction that were allegedly left to freeze in the cold.
The multi-month investigation culminated in the seizure of the three dogs on Monday.
According to neighbours in the area, the dogs were often left in a tiny cage and could be heard whining in discomfort throughout the night, even in sub-zero temperatures.
Cruelty Investigation Officer Kathy Woodward confirms three dogs were removed from the home with a warrant Monday morning. The dogs were pulled from the backyard of a home on Scott Avenue.
The dogs are now in the care of the SPCA and the owner has 14 days to try to dispute it and get the dogs back.
Woodward said there is also a possibility the owner is facing criminal charges for the mistreatment of these dogs.
According to another Southern Interior rescue society, the neighbours called the RCMP and the SPCA often to come seize the dogs.
“They are never allowed in the home and are never allowed to run loose in the yard,” they wrote. “They live in the cage 24/7.”
The Penticton Western News will have more details on this case as they become available.
