TIED NEGLECTED TOFINO PUPPY

It appears that the SPCA's Animal Care Guidelines for Dogs, Five Freedoms and legal ability to enforce the PCA act is nothing more than a public relations tool. After more than three months of written pleas, and documentation of the complaints of other concerned Tofino citizens to the Alberni Clayoquot SPCA over a pup that is being kept tied in a garbage strewn backyard, continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no socialization with humans or other dogs and no exercise, nothing has changed for the pup. I have even contacted Craig Daniell, General Manager of Cruelty Investigations for the BC SPCA on many occasions in the past few months over this situation. I’ve also logged a formal complaint with the District of Tofino.
Attached below is the complete and on-going log of correspondence between myself, the Alberni Clayoquot SPCA and Craig Daniell. I’ve included two pictures of the pup – the first when it was initially reported to the SPCA and the second is the most recent picture.
To date, this pup is still living in it’s own filth, as well as the litter covering the yard, suffering from loneliness and boredom, and is growing larger and more unsocialized every day. The pup is still friendly, but showing increasing signs of frustration such as barking and howling.
Not only is it inherently cruel to force a highly social animal to suffer prolonged isolation, but tied outside day and night, this pup is exposed to many hazards and incidents such as:
- predation by wolves and mountain lions, prolific in this area
- highly contagious diseases such as Canine Parvovirus, Distemper, Infectious Canine Hepatitis and Lyme Disease
- noise disturbance and the public nuisance caused by barking out of loneliness & fear
- escapement from the yard and the hazards posed to free-roaming dogs which include car accidents, poisoning, impoundment, public nuisance/danger, unwanted litters of puppies
- since the pup is on the rope continuously with no supervision, it could easily become tangled in the rope or strangled, thereby rendering it helpless
- fear aggression that results from being tied and unable to escape perceived threats, which in turn becomes a hazard to the community
In light of the horrible attack on Shenica White by two vicious, unsocialized dogs, I would have thought the SPCA would start to take the misery and isolation of chained dogs more seriously and take action to prevent the emotional destruction of this pup. The SPCA has the legal ability to save this pup, now before it becomes a frustrated, aggressive dog which must be destroyed after tragedy occurs. This is the very type of potentially dangerous risk imposed upon the community of Tofino which is unnecessary and completely preventable. This is the very type of situation that the SPCA has decided is not a problem.