Mississauga man charged with animal cruelty after puppies found dead, mutilated

A man from Mississauga is facing animal cruelty charges after several puppies were found either dead or mutilated, Peel police say. 

Officers responded to several incidents between December and March involving four dogs between eight to 10 weeks old. One dog was found dead, and the others were found badly mutilated and left for dead, according to a news release Monday. 

The dogs were a husky mix, pug mix, cocker spaniel mix and border collie mix, the City of Mississauga said in an email on Tuesday. 

They "suffered severe mutilations to their tongues and noses," the city said, and two of them also appeared to have been roughly shaved. 

The three surviving dogs are receiving medical care and are recovering, police said. 

"It's a horrific crime, and we are aware of how egregious these allegations are," Det.-Const. Mandeep Khatra told reporters Monday. 

"We can assure our community that we're allocating all the resources as required to make sure that those who commit such horrific crimes are held accountable for their actions."

The dogs were all found in parkette areas, Khatra said. These included places near schools and community centres, the city said. 

"The areas that they were found in were very obvious to the public if they were walking by," Khatra said.

Injuries appeared to be intentionally cause, police say

Police say the injuries appeared to be intentionally caused and investigators believe the same person was responsible in all incidents.

A 43-year-old man was identified as a suspect after a "complex" investigation, the news release said. 

The man used various online platforms, including Kijiji, to purchase young puppies he allegedly abused, using the alias "Joey" to chat with sellers, police said. 

The man was charged with four counts each of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, killing or injuring animals, and cruelty to animals. He was held in custody pending a bail hearing, police said. 

"Investigators are aware of at least eight dogs but believe there may have been other incidents that are not yet known," the news release said.

Anyone with information or who may have sold puppies online to a buyer going by "Joey" is asked to contact police.