N.S. man charged with animal cruelty after dog and puppies left in freezing temps

A Nova Scotia man has been charged with three counts of animal cruelty after a dog and her litter of puppies were found living outside in freezing temperatures.

Nova Scotia SPCA says its officers first responded to a complaint in mid-November 2017 that a mother dog and puppies were living outside in the cold. Officers visited a home and found the dogs in an outdoor pen with an “inadequate source of shelter.”

READ: ‘It’s an excruciating death’: SPCA reminding people to keep pets inside during cold temperatures

According to the SPCA, officers issued an order to comply to the owner to bring all the dogs inside and provide adequate food and shelter.

But two days later, they returned to the property to find the dogs still living outside in the same conditions. The owner was not home at the time and officers seized the female dog and eight puppies.

WATCH: SPCA warning about pets left out in cold

2:03 ‘It’s an excruciating death’: SPCA reminding people to keep pets inside during cold temperatures

Gary Simmonds of North Preston has been charged with causing animals to be in distress, failing to provide animals with adequate water and food, and confining animals to an enclosure to an area with inadequate space and unsanitary conditions.

All the charges fall under the Animal Protection Act of Nova Scotia. Simmonds is scheduled to appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on Feb. 22.

The SPCA says the owner was given notice to appeal the seizure, but no appeal was filed.

So, the mother dog and all her puppies were treated and housed until they were ready for adoption.

Global News reported on six one-week old puppies that were seized at the end of November 2017 by the SPCA, after they were found outside in -2 C weather. The SPCA says those puppies are not the same ones in this case.