Couple finds injured dog in garbage can in Pacific Spirit Park
A couple out for an evening walk were shocked to find an injured dog in a garbage can and are working to get the animal help while questioning how it got there.
Terry Sparrow was walking with fiance Krista Brisk Wednesday evening through Camosun Bog when they made the troubling discovery. The couple lost their own dog, Reggie, suddenly a few months ago. They’ve taken to going on walks through their pet’s favourite places to remember him. Camosun Bog, about a five-minute drive from their home on the South Vancouver Musqueam reserve, was somewhere they often went together.
They were finishing their walk when Sparrow went to throw out his gum. But as he opened the trash can, he noticed something moving. He closed the lid in fright, thinking it was a raccoon or a rat. But when he opened it again for another look, he realized a small dog was at the bottom.
“It looked up to us, didn’t make any noise or anything. It was just so frightened. Traumatized,” he told Daily Hive in an interview. “We were in shock. Just complete shock.”
Krista Brisk holds the small dog she and her fiance, Terry Sparrow, found in a garbage can along a trail in Camosun Bog (Terry Sparrow/Facebook)
They pulled the dog out of the garbage can and, with only about 30 minutes of daylight left, decided to bring it home while they figured out what to do.
The small dog ate and drank right away. But it was clear he was injured.
“He was in bad shape. He couldn’t stand properly. He was trying to walk a little bit but just [flopped] over.”
The couple phoned the BC SPCA and the RCMP and shared photos of the pup on social media. They quickly connected with a family friend with Squamish Neighbourhood Animal Partnership and Protection Society, who met them at Dunbar Animal Hospital Thursday morning.
The dog at Dunbar Animal Hospital
They learned that the dog, which they’d started calling Oscar, had three broken ribs, and his hip had come out of its socket. The dog also had damaged discs in its back and could be dealing with neurological issues — because it can’t use the right side of its body properly.
They learned the dog was about 10 years old. He was missing a few teeth, though it’s not known if they came out along with his other injuries or if he lost them to old age.
“He was banged up pretty bad,” Sparrow said. “We can only speculate what happened to him. Was he abused? Hit by a car?”
The dog is now in the care of the Squamish Neighbourhood Animal Partnership and Protection Society, which is getting him medical care before eventually finding him a forever home.
“Who would do this to a dog?” Sparrow asked. “There are so many options out there and people who are willing to help animals. I just don’t get it. I don’t understand.”
Sgt. Vanessa Munn with the RCMP confirmed that the force received a report about the small dog found in a garbage can along a trail in Pacific Regional Park. Police are investigating and ask anyone with information to contact University RCMP at 604-224-1322.
Interest has poured in from the community about the little dog. Sparrow is confident that, even with his injuries, the dog will find a loving home.
Krista Brisk and Terry Sparrow with their late dog Reggie (Terry Sparrow)
Sparrow is glad the “Reggie walk” led them to find the pup before it was too late.
“It just felt like another blessing from our late dog, Reggie,” he said. “That’s the whole reason we were up there. Because we were missing him. And it felt like him pointing us in the right direction to find this dog and save him.”