The owner of Captain, a German shepherd found fatally wounded in a Kitsilano dumpster last summer, has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.

Brian Whitlock entered the plea Tuesday on a single count of causing unnecessary suffering, pain or injury to an animal.

He faces up to five years in jail, a $75,000 fine and a possible ban on owning animals.

Whitlock’s two-year-old dog was discovered near-death in July 2012 after neighbours heard his cries from the trash container.

The dog, which was found wrapped in a bloody blanket, was bruised, emaciated, covered in feces and unable to walk. Despite medical efforts to save Captain, he went into cardiac arrest and died the next day.

A neurologist who examined the dog said if he had survived, he likely would have been quadriplegic.

Whitlock’s case is scheduled to continue with a pre-sentencing hearing in June.