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Crocker family provides Hope with the gift of life

Search efforts of Penelakut Island trio pays off
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Hope made a remarkable recovery after suffering severe injuries in May during an animal abuse case. (Photo by Shalu Mehta/Victoria News)

Members of the Crocker family on Penelakut Island are truly lifesavers for their actions in finding Hope the dog.

Stacy, Kim and Ben Crocker were relentless in their search for Hope around the island. Countless others went on the lookout for her when word got around in May she had been abandoned in the woods and tied to a tree with plastic and wire cable.

Unlike the Teddy case in Duncan where the dog eventually died, a horrible situation turned out well for Hope. She recovered and found a new home in the Victoria area.

“We always do appreciate the help from members of the community,” said Kaley Pugh, Vancouver Island regional manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. SPCA. “It was critical in this instance.”

She was not at liberty to discuss details since it’s all being compiled as evidence in the pending court case Dec. 17 in Duncan when Kevin Timothy faces animal cruelty charges.

Pugh did, however, offer her appreciation to the Crockers for going above and beyond the call of duty to help.

“Their dedication was particularly critical to the successful outcome,” she said.

Kim Crocker, 35, her sister Stacy, 40, and uncle Ben went out at 10 p.m., acting on a tip.

“Someone messaged my sister and said they knew where the dog was,” Kim explained.

“She said ‘should we go look now or go in the morning?” Kim recalled. “We said ‘we’re not going to sleep if we don’t.’”

The Crockers were out for two hours when they eventually found Hope at midnight.

“We stayed with her till three in the morning,” Kim added.

A series of events unfolded after that to get Hope off the island and into life-saving treatment.

“She was untied, but she could barely walk,” Kim noted. “She made it to the truck and laid down and couldn’t move.

“It was pretty scary. We thought she wasn’t going to survive after that. She was trying to hide under the truck at first.”

Even after finding the dog, “there was that helplessness, what are we going to do with her now?” Kim declared.

But the happy ending did their heart good. “We like animals,” said Kim.



Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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