B.C. man faces two years in jail for allegedly wiring dog to a tree and leaving it to die

For allegedly wiring a German shepherd pup to a tree and leaving it to die, a Chemainus area man has been charged with animal cruelty pursuant to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

The one-year-old German shepherd named Hope was found May 2019 after allegedly being abandoned in the woods, tied to a tree with a plastic and wire cable by Kevin Timothy, Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer for the BC SPCA said in a press release.

“The cable was tied so tightly that her face was pressed to the tree and she could not lay down or move and the wire was deeply embedded into her neck,” she said in the release.

When she was found, she was delirious and too weak to walk. She was suffering from emaciation, dehydration, extreme muscle wasting and a deep, severe neck wound.

“It is a miracle that this poor dog survived,” Moriarty said. “She was rushed to a veterinary clinic in Duncan to be stabilized, then transferred to a specialized emergency clinic in Victoria, where she received around-the-clock life-saving treatment.”

Following multiple surgeries and months of treatment and care, Hope was adopted by one of her caregivers at the veterinary hospital. She is happy and healthy in her new loving home.

If convicted, Kevin Timothy faces up to two years in jail, a maximum $75,000 fine and up to a lifetime ban on owning animals.

The BC SPCA investigates more than 8,000 cases of animal cruelty each year. All costs are funded by community donations.

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