Cruelty charges pending after starving mastiff found tethered outside in Hope

HOPE – Handsome is a lucky boy.

The seven-year-old mastiff was found tethered outside in bad weather with a heavy chain by RCMP and B.C. SPCA on a property near Hope.

Senior animal protection officer Eileen Drever says in a press release that Handsome is lucky to be alive, chained as he was to a thin, uninsulated plywood doghouse surrounded by ice.

“The poor boy was visibly shaking. He’s so thin, his bones are clearly visible with very little to no body fat,” Drever says in the release. "The dog is unable to maintain its body heat."

"He was rushed to the vet, who found him to be emaciated, with a body condition score of only one out of nine. That is nowhere near healthy for any dog, let alone one who was left outside in extremely cold weather without access to adequate shelter,” Drever adds.

Charges of animal cruelty are being recommended against the owner of Handsome, whose care and recovery are expected to cost $4,000.

You can help Handsome and other animals like him in B.C. SPCA care here.

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.