Owner of dog abandoned at Sooke Potholes comes forward

CHEK

WATCH: The owner of a dog is explaining why he abandoned his pet at Sooke Potholes last week. Lucky for the dog, a couple found her in the parking lot and took her home. As Mary Griffin reports, the Sooke resident says he thought it was the right thing to do.

We now know her name.

Kitti is a four-year-old Australian mastiff, and she has a big bark.

Coltyn Wallin and Kiara Taylor found her, abandoned, at a Sooke Potholes parking lot last week.

They watched as a vehicle dropped her off, then never came back.

“Took her, us, about 10 to 15 minutes to get her in the Jeep,” says Wallin. “Then we stayed there another 15 or 20 minutes.”

After her story aired on CHEK News, thousands shared Kitti’s ordeal on social media.

Her former owner, Ian Symington, decided to come clean.

“I just figured someone would pick her up. Like I said, I wasn’t thinking straight. I just figured someone would pick her up, and take her home.”

For the past year, Symington lived on this Sooke farm with Kitti, along with a number of other tenants.

“We played in here nicely. She was always comfortable. She barked outside.”

Known as a problem property, a four-hour standoff in February with police resulted in evictions for Symington and the others.

He couldn’t keep her any longer.

“In hindsight, if you could do it again, what would you do?” “Well, I’d probably take her to the pound.”

Wallin and Taylor surrendered Kitti to the SPCA.

Annie Prittie Hall with the BC SPCA says she’s now in a foster home.

“So as we get to know her, then we’ll start to figure out what the best type of placement is for her, and who thinks that maybe she is the kind of girl they would want.”

And now Symington says he regrets his decision.

“Do you have something to say to the young couple who have been looking after her?”

“I don’t know what to say. She’s a beautiful dog.”

There can be criminal charges for abandoning a pet.

But with Symington coming forward, the SPCA may focus on just finding the best home for Kitti.

Mary GriffinMary Griffin

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