Rumours around dog fatally shot in head in Shuswap parking lot not verified; SPCA still investigating

CELISTA – The investigation into a dog found fatally shot is ongoing and staff are following up on all leads.

Lorie Chortyk, a spokesperson for the B.C. SPCA, says investigators have contacted the owners of the dog after it was found shot in the head in a Celista-based snowmobiling club’s parking lot.

“They’ve picked up the dog and did a necropsy,” she says. “The remains of the dog are in our care.”

Some have taken to social media to allege the dog was shot by a farmer in the area, which Chortyk says investigators have heard as well, but haven’t determined as fact.

“We’ve heard that, but people can say anything on social media. We can only deal with facts and evidence,” she says.

Chortyk adds that if the owner of the dog was the shooter and if investigators determine the dog died humanely, there would be no criminal charges put forward.

"There’s actually no laws that prevent the owner of an animal from humanely euthanizing their own animal,” she says.

Once the case concludes, Chortyk says the SPCA will provide more comment on the investigation and whether or not animal cruelty charges are laid. 

One of the members of the snowmobile club has since created a GoFundMe page to collect donations for the B.C. SPCA in memory of Oskar the dog.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.