A dog, similar to the one pictured here, was found dead in an Ottawa apartment building on Feb. 18, 2007. Ottawa Humane Society investigators are now appealing for the public's help in solving this shocking crime.

The Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) has had a flood of encouraging calls following a media release yesterday about a dog found dead in a downtown apartment building.

The OHS is offering a $500 reward for information leading to charges in the case of the dog — a young male Boxer — discovered tied up in a stairwell leading from an underground parking garage at 340 Gloucester St., in Ottawa.

We’ve heard from many people who have missing Boxers, but none of the details have matched up with the case we’re investigating. The story has obviously struck a chord and we remain hopeful that it will bear eventual results.

Our OHS investigations team first learned of the dog on Feb. 18, 2007, when they were called to the apartment building by Ottawa police. There they discovered the dog, emaciated and surrounded by feces. A post-mortem performed last week indicated that the dog likely died of dehydration or starvation.

This is the first time we’ve opted to offer a reward in an investigation, but the details of this case are so shocking that we were compelled to issue an elevated response. We’ve received many generous offers from our supporters to contribute to the reward, but at this point in time, we are optimistic that someone will come forward with information to help us find whoever is responsible for this heinous act.

Some supporters may know that while we’re legally mandated to enforce animal cruelty legislation, we receive no government funding to do so. In addition to the normal costs of investigation work, there are additional costs associated with this case, including adding extra staff to handle the volume of calls.

If you are interested in helping support this and other ongoing investigations, please click on the donate now link to add your contribution.

Please look for updates to this story later in the week.

In the meantime, anyone with information on this case is asked to call the Ottawa Humane Society at (613) 725-3166 ext. 224.

Help support new animal cruelty legislation

Animal abuse is a horrific form of violence in our society that needs to be stopped. We would ask that anyone wishing to help in this case take the time to contact their MP and urge him or her to introduce meaningful legislation to adequately protect Canada’s animals from cruelty and abuse.

For more than seven years, governments in this country have given hollow promises to amend our antiquated federal animal cruelty laws. There’s an inadequate bill (S-273) being debated in the House of Commons this week that will do nothing to change the archaic and inadequate offences, but only increases the penalties. There is no point increasing penalties when heinous acts of animal cruelty will continue to go unpunished.

Visit our website to learn more about what you can do.