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'Walking skeletons': Charges considered in alleged B.C. puppy mill probe

The animals were allegedly being kept outside all day in sub-zero temperatures with no shelter.
emaciateddogs
According to the BC SPCA, these three emaciated dogs were among more than a dozen seized in January from a breeder in the North Thompson area.

Prosecutors are now deciding whether charges will be laid in connection with a North Thompson animal-cruelty investigation in which malnourished puppies were described as “walking skeletons.”

BC SPCA officials were tipped off on Dec. 27 about dogs living on a property in Clearwater. BC SPCA investigators visited the property a number of times in January, seizing six adult dogs and seven puppies.

Two additional adult dogs were voluntarily surrendered. One of them was euthanized two weeks later.

In January, a BC SPCA spokeswoman described the sickly dogs as “walking skeletons” and said investigators found evidence that some of them had eaten a blanket out of desperate hunger.

According to the BC SPCA, the animals were being kept outside all day in sub-zero temperatures with no shelter.

The BC SPCA’s investigators forwarded charge recommendations to prosecutors, which are currently under review.

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