'I was shocked': BC SPCA reminds owners to secure pets in vehicles after dog dragged behind pickup
Veterinarians on Vancouver Island are warning dog-owners to always secure their pets inside a vehicle when transporting them after a dog fell out of the back of a pickup truck and was dragged behind the vehicle by her tether.
Heidi, a three-year-old German shepherd, is now in the care of the BC SPCA in Nanaimo, B.C., after she was found severely injured on the side of the road.
"When I first saw the pictures of Heidi’s injuries, I was shocked," said Eileen Drever, the BC SPCA’s senior officer for protection and stakeholder relations, in a release Tuesday.
"Her paws and lower leg were worn down to the bone. The physical and psychological pain that this kind of tragic event would cause is unimaginable."
A witness to the dragging incident alerted the RCMP, who found Heidi and her owner on the side of the road, the BC SPCA said.
The animal protection group says Heidi was in critical medical distress and was seized by the RCMP and rushed to a veterinary hospital for emergency surgery.
Three and a half weeks of intensive round-the-clock treatment later, Heidi is expected to recover and will likely be available for adoption in mid-December.
The veterinary staff describe Heidi as a lovely dog, with a friendly disposition despite what she has been through.
"Transport of an unsecured pet in the back of a pickup is illegal, but as Heidi’s case shows, even tethered transport poses serious risks," Drever said.
"The best and safest way to transport dogs is always inside the vehicle, preferably with a harness made specifically for travelling in a vehicle."
The BC SPCA is covering all of the costs of Heidi’s treatment. Anyone wishing to donate to help cover her care and that of other animals in B.C. can do so anytime on the BC SPCA website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.