Sasha, a two-year-old Shepherd-Chow mix, is timid around strangers, particularly men, but that comes as no surprise as the dog is the victim of alleged animal cruelty.

Sasha is currently being cared for by Rainbow District Animal Control. She was taken from her 26-year-old owner just after midnight when Greater Sudbury Police Service responded to concerns of a man kicking and hitting his dog.

Animal Control manager Richard Paquette attended to take the canine. Sasha didn't suffer any serious injuries in the beating, and she's in a good mood, Katie Cacciotti, an animal control officer, said.

Another spokesperson for Animal Control said while Sasha might have been beaten, “she isn't broken.”

The dog's owner has four days to claim Sasha; however, if he doesn't, then she can be put up for adoption. Only the OSPCA has the authority to stop Sasha from going back to her owner.

If Sasha isn't picked up by her owner, there is no worries about her future. Already, there have been a number of calls expressing interest in adopting the dog, Cacciotti said.

The Ontario SPCA has been notified, and the owner has been charged by police with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Meanwhile, Warren OPP officers are still looking for information regarding a dog they found floating in the water near Musky Island in the west arm of Lake Nipissing.

The dog was white with brown spots and appeared to be a Terrier. A rope with a weight at one end was tied to the dog to keep it submerged.

Just what that weight was, police aren't saying. The reason: only the person who affixed it to the animal would know what it is, said Staff Sgt. Yves Forget.

He said it looked like the dog had been in the lake for a substantial amount of time, but the exact amount of time isn't something he will speculate on, he said.

“We have no idea where the dog came from, and we have no real information as to ownership of the dog,” Forget said. “There were no identifiable markings, and no collar, so basically we don't know if it was a stray dog or someone's pet, or whether it was someone trying to dispose of a dead dog. We're currently in the process of piecing together.

The carcass has been disposed of in a humane way, Forget said.

The area in which the dog was spotted is heavily populated with cottagers, Forget added. OPP officers are talking to residents as part of the investigation.

Posted by Arron Pickard