

Chris Herhalt And Bryann Aguilar, CP24.com





A dog that was found zippered into a suitcase at the bottom of a hill in an Etobicoke park on Saturday is doing well in the care of Toronto Animal Services.

Some joggers running in Lambton Park, in the Dundas Street West and Scarlett Road area, were running on Saturday morning when they came across a black suitcase that was moving slightly.

“They could hear a dog inside,” a member of theBlack Dog Rescue group said of the encounter. “They could tell the suitcase was thrown down the hill above where they found it.”

They opened the bag and found a female dog inside.

The joggers traced drag marks from the bottom of the suitcase approximately 200 metres away from where it was found, to the edge of the parking lot at Lambton Arena.

“Thankfully the weather was warmer than normal or she could have frozen to death,” a member of the Black Dog Rescue group said on Facebook. “It was clear she had puppies recently.”

The dog, which police later described as a Jack Russell-mix, does not have a collar ID or a microchip.

She was taken to Toronto Animal Services for care.

Wendy Burant, a supervisor with Toronto Animal Services West Region, told CP24 on Monday afternoon that the dog appears to be doing “pretty good” but will be examined by a veterinarian later this week.

She said that the dog is believed to be between five and seven years old.

It will eventually be put up for adoption but not until it has been held in the care of Toronto Animal Service for at least five business days.

“There has been a lot of social media outreach obviously and people calling our phones,” Burant said.

“There is lots of interest in her so she won’t have a hard time finding a new home and getting a second chance. She did come to the right place.”

Police said Monday they are investigating the incident and urged anyone who could identify the dog or the person(s) responsible for abandoning it to contact 11 Division.