The SPCA officer said that Bailey’s owner was not to blame for him repeatedly overdosing on drugs
The B.C. Farm Industry Review Board turned down an appeal from a man in Vancouver whose dog was taken away because it was thought to have overdosed on drugs.
A board decision posted online says that a person named K.R. asked for Bailey, a dog taken by the B.C. SPCA that later tested positive for opioids, cocaine, and amphetamines, to be returned.
A hearing panel with the B.C. Farm Industry Review Board, an independent administrative body whose job it is to hear appeals about animal custody decisions, agreed with the rescue agency that Bailey should not go back to K.R.
It said that the dog should stay at the SPCA and, if possible, be adopted out.
The rescue agency went to the building where K.R. lives three times before taking Bailey away in December, the panel heard. Harm reduction is a method that focuses on reducing the harm and potential danger that come with using drugs and engaging in other addictive behaviors.
According to the decision, an SPCA special constable said that K.R. “did not bear any responsibility” for Bailey repeatedly overdosing on drugs.
‘A totally different dog
The decision says that staff at the property complained to the rescue agency last summer that Bailey often showed signs of being high on heroin.
The staff member said that Bailey was “a totally different dog” before and after being exposed to drugs in K.R.’s room.
The employee told the SPCA that up to 10 people were doing drugs in the room all the time and that this had been going on for months.
The decision says, “After an hour in the room, Bailey’s eyes would be bigger, her tail would be between her legs, her ears would be down, and she would be woozy, coughing, and throwing up.”
The employee also said that Bailey was taken to a vet by a coworker, who found fentanyl in the dog’s system.
Owner had been warned befor
The decision says that when an SPCA special constable visited K.R., the dog seemed “happy and healthy.” K.R. told Bailey that he didn’t smoke drugs.
The constable put out a notice and warned that if Bailey wasn’t protected, legal action could be taken.
On December 11, the SPCA went back to the house after hearing that Bailey “was tired, couldn’t stand, and yelped when moved.”
After finding drugs in the hallways of the property, K.R. thought that Bailey must have taken them. The police officer warned K.R. again.
Bailey was lethargic, whimpering, shaking, and couldn’t get up when the SPCA got another call about him two days later.
Later, the property manager told the SPCA officer that she had given Bailey NARCAN, which is a nasal spray form of naloxone that can reverse an overdose of opioids. She thought that Bailey had overdosed because she was in K.R.’s unit.
On Dec. 14, an SPCA officer and Vancouver police officers used a search warrant to take Bailey.
Dog placed in foster car
A veterinarian later said that Bailey had opioids, cocaine, and amphetamines in his system, but that he was “clinically fine” and didn’t need any more treatment or medical help.
Bailey was then sent to live with a foster family.
The decision says that K.R. admitted to using fentanyl and heroin as painkillers, and that he may have crushed some of them into a powder. He also said that other people in his room used the same drugs and may have used cocaine and amphetamines.
The panel said it was sure that K.R.’s unit was where Bailey got the dangerous drugs. It also found that he did “little or nothing” to fix the problem before the dog was taken away.