A dog was left to starve to death when a New Brunswick man walked away from a home he was renting near Hartland, N.B., the landlord is alleging.
The New Brunswick SPCA is investigating along with the RCMP after the remains of a dog were found among the mess in the abandoned home in Somerville, N.B.
Erin McCormick, the daughter of the property owner, said she doesn’t know when the tenant left, but when they did, they left unpaid rent and their dog — unattended and without food.
“The door was unlocked, so (the landlord) went in and that’s where she found the remains of the dog,” McCormick said.
Bags of garbage were piled at the curb outside the house, evidence of a massive clean-up and the mess McCormick described.
“(The landlord) did speak with Animal Cruelty and the RCMP when they came and they said that they expected the dog had been starving for about two months and it had died about three days before she'd gotten there,” McCormick said.
Hilary Howes, executive director of the New Brunswick SPCA, confirmed they are working with RCMP on a joint investigation into the discovery of the dog’s remains.
“It’s really too early in the whole process to comment,” he said.
Despite the absence of any findings so far in the investigation, there has already been widespread condemnation of the alleged abandonment on social media.
A video posted by the property owner last week, said to have been taken just after the dog’s remains were removed, has prompted a massive outcry.
“I woke up this morning and there were 31,000 views on the video and I had people messaging me from the States, from all across Canada, just saying I can't believe this happened to you, I'm sorry,” McCormick said.
The SPCA says it has yet to determine the dog’s cause of death.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
