‘Fred’ and ‘Ethel’ cannot be without each other.
The two small dogs were left tied to a fence outside the Burnaby SPCA in the early hours of the morning one day last week, and both need a lot of medical care.
A Good Samaritan took in Fred, a black shih tzu, and Ethel, a white Maltese mix, until the shelter opened for the day.
Neither was spayed or neutered and staff do not know where they came from.
“It is shocking Ethel can still eat hard food,” says Ryan Voutilainen, branch manager, adding the gentle canine has a large mass growing inside her mouth, her teeth are in horrible condition, and she has irritated skin, hair loss and ears full of discharge. She also shows signs of having been bred multiple times. Fred desperately needs dental surgery as well, to clean and extract some teeth that have rotted away.
Voutilainen says the two dogs are inseparable and are very sweet little animals.
“They adore each other, often snuggling in one dog bed,” he says. “They explore and sniff the (SPCA) yards together and pine for each other when separated. Ethel loves her walks and will even grab her leash when she’s ready to go.”
Both are estimated to be about eight years old, and staff at the BC SPCA want to see them go to a “furever” home together.
The cost of the dogs’ combined medical care is estimated at more than $2,000. As a non-profit organization, the BC SPCA relies mainly on public donations to help the province’s most vulnerable animals. If you can help Fred and Ethel and other animals like them in need at the Burnaby SPCA, you can donate online at spca.bc.ca/Burnaby or in person, at 3202 Norland Ave., Burnaby.
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