Dog found in garbage bag at 100 Mile House dump

A senior dog in poor condition was found in a tightly sealed trash bag in a bin at a dump in 100 Mile House Thursday.

Local resident Cory Forsyth went to dump household trash at the Lone Butte Transfer Station just after 9 a.m. on Nov. 27 when he heard squeaks coming from inside the bin which is situated several feet below road level.

“You drive up and there is a pit where they put massive bins down there and you throw your garbage over these gates into it,” he said. “I heard this noise and thought I’d bumped the gate, but then I heard it again and a woman beside me heard it.”  

The attendant at the station came over and with a pole, and Forsyth dug around in the bin until he located the source of the squeaking sounds, pulled up a garbage bag and ripped it open to find a small dog.

“I could tell it wasn’t in good shape, its nose was crusty, it needed water, it was skin and bones,” Forsyth said. “When I picked him up it was like picking up a stuffy, there was nothing in it.

“It was starved and neglected, its toenails were super long, it was obviously not something that just happened when it was in that bag.”

Forsyth put the dog in a box and got him some water and went through the garbage looking for any identifying information to no avail. He asked the station attendant to call the BC SPCA, and once it was confirmed the animal organization was on its way, he went to a dentist appointment.

Once at the dentist, he made a post to social media about the situation.

“I wasn’t looking for anything, I didn’t want this to be a notoriety thing, I just thought people should know the little guy was thrown away like garbage and someone shouldn’t have discarded it like that,” he said.

The community and beyond responded with anger and sadness.

“I wasn’t planning to have this thing blow up and it was never my intention to make it into a witch hunt,” he said. “It was just to say something happened to this poor little guy and hope the owner would reach back, do the right thing and take ownership.”

Forsyth said countless people have reached out to him privately to adopt the dog or take on vet bills.

A spokesperson with the BC SPCA in William’s Lake said the dog is in the care of Lakeland Veterinary Clinic in Hundred Mile House.

Lakeland Veterinary Clinic was not immediately available for comment.