Family, friends and fellow dog owners gathered in Ladner over the weekend to pay tribute to the six dogs that died last month from heat exhaustion after being left in the back of a dog walker's truck.
The owners of the six canines were joined by many two-and four-legged supporters at the North 40 dog park in Ladner Sunday morning to honour and remember the dogs - Buddy, Molly, Salty, Teemo, Oscar and Mia.
The six dogs were with their walker on May 13 when she reported them stolen from the back of her truck parked at the Brookswood dog park in Langley. The report prompted a massive search, however, a week later the truth came out when the dog walker admitted the animals had died after she left them in the truck. The dogs' bodies were later recovered from an Abbotsford ditch.
Jennifer Meyers, who lost her dog Buddy, a Boston terrier, said Sunday's event was to thank everyone for their support during their sad ordeal. She added the six dogs frequented the park often and it was Buddy's favourite spot to come for a walk.
Last week the SPCA announced it would be recommending animal cruelty charges against the dog walker.
While the SPCA is still completing its report, Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer, said enough evidence has been obtained in the investigation so far to warrant a recommendation of separate animal cruelty charges for each dog.
This week, spokesperson Lorie Chortyk said the report and recommendations would be forwarded to Crown counsel within the next week or so.
She said SPCA investigators are still waiting for one more forensic report to come back and have called in an expert in the matter from the U.S.
Chortyk said there is enough evidence to support the recommendation of animal cruelty charges but investigators want to make sure the evidence forwarded to the Crown is as solid as possible.
Langley RCMP is also conducting a separate investigation into possible public mischief charges.
In the meantime, an online petition has been started to make animal cruelty an indictable offence under the Criminal Code. The petition has garnered more than 113,000 signatures so far.
There is also an online fundraising drive, initially started to help cover the costs of the search for the dogs, that will now help fund memorials as well as legal fees.
Donations can be made by visiting http://www. gofundme.com/97yjh4. The petition can be found by visiting www.thepetitionsite. com and searching Brookswood 6. With files from the Province
