An emaciated pit bull English bulldog mix was discovered near McNair Secondary School in Richmond. A compassionate early morning jogger came across him during their run on April 2, 2025.
“The jogger noticed the dog trailing behind him as he ran,” says Eileen Drever, senior officer protection and stakeholder relations. “At first, he thought the dog belonged to someone, but he looked around and saw no one. When he stopped running, the dog just stood there and gazed at him.”
Drever adds when he got a closer look, he noticed the dog was skin and bones, which concerned him. “He approached the dog and was able to coax him into his car,” says Drever.
While waiting for the BC SPCA Richmond animal centre to open, the finder bought the dog some rotisserie chicken and a collar.
“The dog had no identification and when they scanned for a microchip none was found,” says Drever. The dog was placed in a BC SPCA foster home and began a veterinarian supervised feeding plan to help him gain weight. He was scheduled for a full veterinary workup.
“In addition to suffering from starvation the dog has arthritis in his front legs,” says Drever. “His veterinary checkup went well, but he is not out of the woods yet. He is not gaining weight as quickly as we would like. He is under the watchful eye of the veterinarian and is getting lots of love from his foster.”
Drever explains emaciated dogs are a challenge to care for and when a dog has a low body condition score like this it can have long-term implications for their health. “They are often in our care for weeks before we see an increase in their weight,” says Drever. “We will do everything in our power to make them healthy and happy.”
The foster reports the dog is a loving and affectionate boy despite everything he has been through.
At this time, it is not known when the dog will be available for adoption.