Dogs abandoned by owner at grow-op

This starving German Shepherd was found Monday inside the garage of a house that had been used as a marijuana grow-op until Richmond Mounties busted it two months ago.

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Martin van den Hemel - Richmond Review

Published: March 17, 2009 12:00 PM
Updated: March 19, 2009 1:44 PM

A realtor and clean-up crew made a horrifying discovery Monday inside a house that had been used to grow marijuana before being raided two months ago by local Mounties.

Found inside the home's garage were two German Shepherds, one that had already died and another that was on death's door.

"It was an absolute horrible tragic thing," said Carol Reichert, president of Richmond Animal Protection Society.

The house, at 3980 Scotsdale Place, near No. 1 Road and Williams, was raided by Richmond RCMP on Jan. 21 and one man was arrested at the scene.

Richmond RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Pound said that since the man was released after appearing in court, his two dogs—which were heard alive and well barking in the garage—were left to his care. Had the suspect been detained, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would have been called to seize the animals, Pound explained.

It isn't clear how long the dogs had been left on their own inside the house.

The severely distressed survivor was emaciated, little more than a bag of bones, and was coughing up elastic bands that it had found inside the garage and then eaten. Though it was about a year old, it weighed just 23 pounds.

"Who put them there, we don't know," Reichert said.

A veterinarian said the surviving German Shepherd was perhaps a day or two from passing away.

It was a scene that would rip your heart out, Reichert said.

Reichert said the society receives too many calls about people who own dogs, but don't allow them in the house or even in the back yard, instead keeping them in the garage.

Keeping your dog overnight in the garage is one thing, but locking them inside cages inside the garage is another, she said.

A veterinarian said the prognosis of the survivor is good, and the society's staff are slowly nursing the animal back to full health.

Ironically, a full bag of dog food was inside the house, but outside the reach of the two dogs. And there was only a shallow water dish left in the garage.