A Duncan couple accused in a high-profile case of animal neglect of a dog named Teddy will head to court for a trial starting next month.
The trial of Anderson Joe and Melissa Tooshley will take place at the Duncan Law Courts on Feb. 27 and March 1, court documents show.
Joe and Tooshley pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to provide necessities for an animal, and Joe pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal.
The charges stem from an SPCA seizure on a Duncan property on Feb. 16, 2018.
Investigators say they found Teddy emaciated, chained up and in critical distress.
His collar was embedded so deeply in his neck it made the dog's head swell up to nearly three times its normal size.
He died in SPCA care several days later.
The BC SPCA called it one of the "most profoundly shocking and disturbing cases of abuse we have ever witnessed."
Joe and Tooshley could face up to five years in prison and could receive a $10,000 fine and lifetime ban on owning animals if convicted.
