WINDSOR, ONT.—Police in Windsor, Ont., say a man has been charged after a dog was found with its muzzle, paws and neck tightly wound with electrical tape.

Staff Sgt. Todd Cox of the Major Crimes Unit says 32-year-old Michael Earl Hill of Amherstburg, Ont., was charged with wilfully causing unnecessary pain to an animal. He says Hill was taken into police custody Friday evening.

Cox says Hill was not the dog’s owner, but he was attempting to retrieve the dog from the Humane Society with two other people.

The dog, who has been renamed Justice by the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society, was found lying in the grass Thursday, unable to move.

Officials say the dog would likely not have survived more than a few more hours had he not been found. Even after the tape was removed, he was initially unable to stand and his mouth remains swollen.

Vets expect Justice to make a full recovery.

“Obviously it’s an emotional case, and it affects everybody, especially when you have an animal that’s defenceless like this one,” Cox says. “Detectives worked quickly on it, and fortunately enough, an arrest was made.”