A Calgary woman is facing charges after a cat and a dog were found in distress inside a frigid southeast storage locker.

The pair was found on January 6, 2017 after workers at the storage facility heard whimpers coming from the locker.

The cat was confined to a box beneath some belongings and had tape around its head, while the dog was found in a crate, and authorities believe they were there at least overnight.

“Fortunately we were able to intervene before there was a poor ending to that,” said Brad Nichols, Senior Manager, Animal Cruelty Investigations. “There was a staff member from the storage company that, walking by, heard the animals vocalizing inside and very fortunate to have done so because if those animals had been left in there without food and water for lengthy periods, I think we both know what the outcome would have been.”

Multiple charges have now been laid against Samantha Zychowski, 21, of Calgary, including; causing an animal to be in distress, causing unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury and abandoning an animal in distress or failure to provide necessary care.

“They were both in the range of a year, year and a half, both fairly young animals,” said Nichols. “They were in decent nutritional condition and so there wasn’t a lot of rehabilitation that needed to be done.”

Both animals were cared for by the Calgary Humane Society and have since been adopted into new, loving homes.