The owner of Captain, a two-year-old German shepherd that was found fatally injured in a dumpster last week, has been released from custody.
Brian Whitlock was arrested Wednesday on a charge unrelated to the dog’s death then released Thursday at Vancouver provincial court.
Whitlock has not been accused of harming Captain, but SPCA investigators have been trying to track him down and speak to him since the dog was discovered.
A search warrant for a knife, a baseball bat and a heavy chain was executed at his apartment in connection with the agency’s ongoing animal cruelty probe.
The warrant, which was obtained by CTV News, also says police observed piles of dog feces inside the home.
Marcie Moriarty, the SPCA’s manager of cruelty investigations, said forensic tests are still underway and the cause of Captain’s death is not yet clear.
Someone close to Whitlock told CTV News the man has owned dogs since childhood, and was always good with animals.
The source said if Whitlock had anything to do with Captain’s injuries it would be out of character for him.
The tragic story has already outraged animal lovers, hundreds of whom gathered at Kitsilano Beach Wednesday night for a vigil in Captain’s honour.
Psychologist Stanley Coren said the outpouring of grief for the German shepherd isn’t surprising.
“At the emotional level we view [dogs] as two to three-year-olds,” Coren said. “They’re dependent, they’re needy, they can’t survive on their own.”
Captain’s case has also spurred an online donation drive that has so far raised more than $69,900 in support for the SPCA’s animal cruelty investigations.
With reports from CTV British Columbia’s Nafeesa Karim and Penny Daflos
