‘She tossed the dog out the window and then just floored it’: P.A. police investigate alleged animal cruelty act

A group of residents in Prince Albert’s Crescent Acres neighbourhood, received quite the shock this week when they witnessed what they believe was a woman’s desperate attempt to abandon her dog.

The incident happened Tuesday night around 7 p.m. Michael Lypchuk lives on the street and was playing outside with his children, when a strange gold coloured van pulled up to the curb on the far side of the cul- de-sac.

“She tossed the dog out the window and then just floored it, and the dog is chasing her the whole time. We just all kind of looked at each other and said ‘is this for real?'” he said.

A video of the incident was captured by the security camera at the Lypchuk home and was later shared to the Crescent Acres Community Facebook page. The Lypchuks also reported the incident to police.

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Meanwhile another neighbour who witnessed the incident unfold, quickly raced to the other end of the street and blocked the path of the fleeing van. The neighbour, who requested she remain anonymous, told paNOW she approached the van and confronted the driver.

“I said what are you doing, you threw your dog out the window, and she’s like ‘oh no I’m sorry you thought that but I was just letting my dog out for a run and I’m like no you weren’t, it was very clear you were trying to ditch your dog,” the neighbour said.

At this point the small dog caught up to the van and the unknown woman then proceeded to pick it up and drive away. The driver, described as being in her 50s and wearing pajamas, gave no indication where she was going or what she planned to do with the dog.

“I don’t know if she ditched it in the next street,” the neighbour said.

Prince Albert Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident. Meanwhile Prince Albert SPCA manager Ashlee Bober said “thankfully” traumatic incidents like the one Tuesday night are not common news, but added the general act of animals being abandoned does happen a lot in the Prince Albert area.

“You can’t expect that people are going to find them, you know sometimes if you just put a box of kittens on the side of the road, you know bad things will happen,” she said

Bober encouraged anyone who witnesses a situation where there is question to animal cruelty, to contact Saskatchewan Animal Protection. In terms of why someone may abandon their animal, Bober explained the common reasons are people who lack the funds to raise the animal, or did anticipate the work required to care for the animal for their life span ( average 15 years).

“If you can’t care for your animal then reach out to the proper places (SPCA and other rescue organizations,” she said. “Unfortunately all SPCA’s and rescues have their capacity so its not always saying they will have room to take them but we will definitely try our best to help out.”

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell