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Dog abandoned in crate in Spokane Valley died from dehydration and starvation, SCRAPS says

SCRAPS workers found a dead dog abandoned in a crate near South McKinnon Road and East Fifth Avenue in Spokane Valley sometime before Saturday, April 6, 2019. The agency says whoever left the animal committed an act of first-degree animal cruelty. (SCRAPS / Courtesy photo)
By Jonathan Glover jonathanglover22@gmail.com

A dog found dead recently in Spokane Valley died from starvation and dehydration after being abandoned in a crate, the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service reported.

The adult female mixed-breed dog was discovered in the crate in a wooded area about 100 feet from McKinnon Road and Fifth Avenue on March 16; however, SCRAPS didn’t make the discovery public until posting a news release to Facebook on Saturday.

Officer Jennifer Loparco, the lead investigator on the case, said the decision was intentional as they were hoping for leads.

“We kind of hit a wall and we needed the community’s help,” she said Monday. “We knew someone would recognize something.”

Unlike other cases of abandoned animals, SCRAPS director Lindsey Soffes said this particular animal was reported quick enough to net forensic evidence from a necropsy. It showed the dog’s cause of death was starvation and dehydration “attributable to abandonment in her crate.” The agency said the dog also had pressure sores on three of her feet.

“This is certainly a case unlike the others” Soffes said. “We have a really strong evidentiary case. But we would certainly, from what we see, state that this is an incredibly uncommon occurrence.”

Included in the Facebook post were photos of the dog inside the kennel. The dog looks to be medium sized, with black and white fur. She was wearing a red collar. Inside the crate was a brown blanket and a Yuban brand brown coffee can.

Soffes and Loparco said the dog was anywhere from 6 to 8 years old. She was not spayed. She had no microchip embedded in her skin and no tag with identifying information on her collar.

Loparco said the Facebook post, which as of Monday afternoon had generated over 3,500 shares and 1,200 comments, led to several useful tips.

“We know that somebody will recognize either the blanket, the crate or the dog,” Loparco said. “We can bring justice for this poor dog.”

The agency said it believes the dog was a victim of first-degree animal cruelty, a felony.

Loparco and Soffes ask anyone with information about the case to contact SCRAPS at (509) 477-2532 and reference case number 2019-0160, or email scraps@spokanecounty.org with the subject line “Attention Officer Loparco.”