March 14 update: The BC SPCA says it has identified Rusty's owner and is moving forward with the investigation.
Warning: This story contains graphic images of an injured animal.
The BC SPCA is asking for the public's help to identify the owner of a dog found with a chain collar embedded deeply in its neck on a logging road in southeastern British Columbia.
A one-year-old Labrador-Shar-Pei mix, was brought to the SPCA’s East Kootenay branch in Cranbrook Saturday by Good Samaritans who found him on the Carrol Creek forest service road between Yahk and Creston. Not knowing the dog's name, they gave him the nickname "Rusty."
“We immediately rushed Rusty for veterinary treatment,” Christy King, manager of the East Kootenay SPCA, said in a statement.
“He has had surgery to remove necrotic tissue from his neck and is doing well. We are hopeful he will make a full recovery.”
The SPCA is investigating the case and anyone who might know Rusty's owner is asked to contact the animal cruelty hotline at 1-855-622-7722.
Rusty's rescue comes less than a week after a similar incident on the other side of the province led to charges against a Vancouver Island couple.
Special constables found an emaciated, chained-up dog with collar deeply embedded in its neck on a rural property near Duncan, B.C.
Anderson Joe and Melissa Tooshley are each facing charges of animal cruelty and could face up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and a lifetime ban on owning animals if convicted.
