Nunavut woman charged with animal cruelty after dog dies of injuries

Four-month-old Spike was flown from Taloyoak to a Yellowknife shelter in early May, where he was being treated for multiple injuries, including pelvic fractures, head trauma and severe bruising on his body. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NWTSPCA)

A Nunavut woman has been charged with animal cruelty after a dog in her care died of traumatic injuries earlier this week.

The Nunavut RCMP said on Thursday, June 7 that Karen Nanook of Taloyoak faces one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Someone in the western Nunavut community contacted the Northwest Territories SPCA last month to report the mistreatment of Nanook’s four-month-old husky puppy named Spike.

The dog was flown to the Yellowknife shelter in early May, where he was treated for multiple injuries, including pelvic fractures, head trauma and severe bruising on his body.

Veterinarians worked to remove a large abscess on the puppy’s leg in recent weeks.

But on May 28, the SPCA posted to its Facebook page that Spike had died that morning. The puppy had been having seizures and stopped eating in the days before its death.

“This puppy has been traumatized both mentally and physically,” the SPCA wrote on its Facebook page, urging people with information about Spike’s abuser to come forward.

“Deliberate cruelty to animals is a form of violence. The abuse must not be ignored.”

The SPCA was able to help the RCMP gather the statements and evidence needed to lay the animal cruelty charge.

Nanook is scheduled to appear in court in Taloyoak on July 16.