DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — The BC SPCA’s South Peace Branch is looking to get help from the public in identifying the individual who left a cat to die, buried in garbage, in Pouce Coupe earlier this week.

Branch Manager Wendy Davies said that a one-year-old female muted tortoiseshell cat named Rosie was found stuffed inside a box at the bottom of a dumpster with her legs forced behind her neck and restrained with zip ties. She explained that a man was collecting bottles from the dumpster outside the Hillcrest Motel at 11:30 p.m. on Monday, when he heard a soft meowing coming from underneath the piles of garbage.

Photo by SPCA Photo by SPCA

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Davies said the man dug under the piles of garbage and discovered the cat inside a taped box with her limbs zip-tied together. The man freed the cat and cared for her overnight before taking her to the BC SPCA’s South Peace Branch in Dawson Creek the following morning.

“We immediately took the cat to the vet and thankfully she has no lasting injuries or medical concerns,” said Davies. “If that gentleman hadn’t found her when he did, though, there’s no doubt she would have suffocated. It is heartbreaking to think how much she was suffering and how terrified she must have been.”

The SPCA was able to track down the cat’s owner, who had reported her missing from Dawson Creek at 8:30 that same evening. Davies explained that Rosie was part of the community’s low-cost spay/neuter program, and had a tattoo and microchip.

“We are seeking any information about why Rosie was taken to Pouce Coupe and how she ended up in this life-threatening situation. It is clear from the way she was tied up and buried that this was a cruel and deliberate act of animal cruelty.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the BC SPCA’s toll-free animal cruelty hotline at 1.855.622.7722, or their local police.