SPCA investigating after abandoned dog found locked in suitcase

The RCMP and the B.C. SPCA have launched investigations after a small dog was found locked in a suitcase Sunday.

A man out for a walk near the Richmond Nature Park heard the sound of a crying dog coming from a ditch and found it had been left abandoned in a double-locked suitcase.

Eyal Lichtmann from the Richmond Animal Protection Society said the dog appears to be a six year old poodle.

"It was found in its own urine and feces so we assumed it had been in there anywhere from three to five hours," he said.

"What's really weird here is that the dog was well groomed so it was well taken care of."

Staff with the society — who have named the dog "Donut" — said the dog is in good health after receiving a bath and some medical attention. 

As the SPCA tries to figure out how the dog ended up in the suitcase, they hope the media attention will help trace the owner.

"The only thing that would come to our mind is that somebody's doing it to get at someone else and we're hoping thorough media exposure, because it was well groomed, that one of the groomers or somebody else that knows the dog will step forth to let us know who it was."