Injured dog found buried alive in field on Montreal's South Shore
Man out walking in Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford heard whimpering, saw paw sticking out of dirt
A dog found seriously injured and buried alive in Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford, 68 kilometres southeast of Montreal, is now in the care of the local SPCA, and provincial police are investigating.
It's believed the dog might have been strangled and hit with a blunt object before it was buried, said the director of Montérégie SPCA, Linda Robertson.
A man out walking heard a dog whimpering and went in search of the sound. According to Robertson, the man saw a paw sticking out of the ground and the earth moving.
The man began pushing the dirt away and found the dog, a male boxer, still breathing.
He called 911 and was put through to the Sûreté du Québec detachment in nearby Marieville, which dispatched officers to the scene.
The officers, accompanied by an SPCA staff member, helped dig out the dog, which was found wrapped in a blanket.
"We're thinking they thought the dog was dead [when they buried it]," Robertson said.
Dog in critical but stable condition
The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic in Chambly, where it is said to be in critical but stable condition.
"His heart beat is normal now, and his temperature is going up, which is good," SPCA volunteer Bonnie Hitchen told CBC Montreal in an email update Tuesday night.
"He is awake — not able to stand up yet, but with all the prayers he's getting, we are hoping he will be on the road to recovery very soon."
The SQ is now investigating to find out what happened to the dog and to track down its owner.
Robertson said two dogs were found strangled to death in a field about 25 kilometres away in January. Those dogs had been stolen from two different neighbours and were tortured before being killed.
"I've been doing this 28 years, and this is the first time I've heard of a dog being buried alive," Robertson said.
The man who found the buried dog told Robertson that if he hadn't come today, it likely would have been a couple of days before he did, and it's unlikely that he would have found the dog.
Anyone with information can call the Montérégie SPCA at (450) 460-2779.
With files from Sarah Leavitt