"An up date now on a story we told you about last night, It is a case that has sickened even veteran animal cruelty investigators. A four-month old Rottweiler pup was kept in tortuous conditions. CTV's Hazel McClement has the story."

McClement (showing video made by the neighbour of the seizure): "This is home video of what the SPCA found on its third visit to a Richmond home. A four-month old Rottweiler puppy chained inside a plywood box by its owner. Neighbours had been watching the dog Jiji for several weeks and had made numerous complaints before the dog was seized."

(Home video shows male SPCA officer taking Jiji, saying, "Look at that! Awwww..baby...awwww...look at the poor thing.")

Marie (neighbour): "It's just heartbreaking..."

McClement: This neighbour said she hoped the dog would be seized after the first visit by the SPCA a couple of weeks ago. At that time the dog was chained inside a Rubbermaid container too small for her to stand up in.

Eileen Drever, SPCA Senior Animal Protection Officer, standing in the container: "The dog was kept in here, the chain came through one of the holes and was chained to the anvil restricting movement in the box."

McClement: "Within ten minutes of the SPCA fellow leaving she(the owner) had put the dog back on the leash, she had hit the dog, and put the dog back in the kennel. She (Marie) stopped the SPCA officer on the street to report what she had seen and he returned to the home. After that, Jiji disappeared into the garage for days before finally reappearing in the backyard shortly before the SPCA returned.

Drever: "When (unintelligible) search warrant the dog was being kept in a plywood box, the door was nailed closed, and it did not have access to water and it's really unfortunate."

McClement with video of an Asian woman at her door: "The woman most often seen with the puppy was clearly unhappy when Jiji was rescued. CTV tried for two days to speak to the residents of the house, but no one was answering. (Video of Jiji in an SPCA kennel) Jiji is now recovering in his spacious kennel."

Drever: "He's coming along quite nicely."

McClement: "The SPCA is now preparing a charge of animal cruelty against his owner and will vigorously resist any effort to reclaim her. An animal cruelty conviction carries a $2000 fine and or six months in jail, and or a lifetime ban on owning animals."

More posts in this thread: http://www.animaladvocates.com/cgi-bin/newsroom.pl/read/8905

SPCA dodges by saying there was a "language barrier"problem *PIC*
AAS -- Monday, 2 May 2005, at 7:20 a.m.
More bilge...
AAS -- Monday, 2 May 2005, at 7:31 a.m.
Why can't the SPCA get a simple thing right?
AAS -- Monday, 2 May 2005, at 6:27 p.m.
SPCA ignores another pup-in-the-box "We do know that it wasn't the last time in the torture box"
June Ward -- Tuesday, 3 May 2005, at 5:53 a.m.
This is not the first case like this
N.R. -- Monday, 2 May 2005, at 3:11 p.m.
So...why DID the SPCA seize Jiji? *NM*
AAS -- Tuesday, 3 May 2005, at 5:47 p.m.