A 29-year-old man has been arrested and charged after a badly wounded dog was abandoned on an outdoor patio at a fast-food restaurant in Brampton earlier this month.
Police say that the dog, a small Yorkshire Terrier, was found in the early morning hours of April 15 on the patio of the restaurant near Bramalea Road and Sandalwood Parkway.
Police say the animal was found by staff members with “severe injuries” and was taken to a veterinary hospital, where it later had to be euthanized.
Following the incident, police released surveillance camera footage of two suspects who were captured on the patio with the dog earlier in the morning.
In a news release issued on Thursday, police confirmed that a 29-year-old man from Brampton has been arrested and charged with one count of cruelty to animals in connection with the incident.
Police say they are still working to identify the second suspect.
Police are not identifying the suspect that has been charged due to the fact that the second suspect has not been apprehended.
News of the arrest comes hours after PETA posted a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the capture of those responsible for the dog’s injuries.
In a news release, the organization said that the dog sustained "punctuated ulcers on her paw pads and large lesions on her right side, among other wounds."
"This poor little dog suffered hideously before being left for dead at a fast-food restaurant," PETA Vice President Colleen O'Brien said. "PETA urges anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately so that whoever abused and abandoned her can be held accountable."
