Christchurch man wakes up on birthday to find dog Polar stabbed to death in public car park

A Christchurch man is desperate for answers after his pet dog was found stabbed to death in a public car park on the day of his birthday.

The SPCA has since made a call to the public for locals who were in the area at the time of the dog Polar’s death to come forward to help with information.

Chris Purcell, of Aranui, had owned Polar for six years. He woke on Tuesday to a post reporting a white dog had been found dead round the corner from his home.

He discovered Polar wasn’t home but found a hole in his fence, indicating his dog had gone for a wander.

Chris Purcell, an Aranui local had owned Polar for six years. Photo / Supplied

By the time he made his way to the reported scene of a dog’s body, in a public car park behind a pharmacy on Breezes Rd, the SPCA had been and collected it.

“I got a call later in the morning, around half-nine, saying it was Polar,” said Purcell.

“The SPCA did x-rays and found he had no broken bones, so they wanted to do an autopsy to work out what happened.”

The afternoon autopsy revealed a stab wound in the dog’s abdomen, measuring 10cm by 2cm, which had punctured his spleen.

It was then the SPCA confirmed it was indeed a stabbing.

“I hope it wasn’t targeted,” said Purcell.

“I believe it was a random attack, the SPCA went down the track that it might have been a kid on the way to school - but nobody knows.”

The afternoon autopsy revealed a stab wound in the dog’s abdomen, measuring 10cm by 2cm which had punctured his spleen.

The dog died at a quiet end of the public road, according to Purcell, with “a little foot traffic” and parents dropping their kids off for school in the morning.

“He wouldn’t have barked, he’s a good boy - he would go up to anyone for a pat.”

Purcell said not knowing the circumstances of his dog’s death makes it harder to process. While he enjoyed a birthday dinner that evening, the morning’s events slightly soured the mood.

“Definitely not something you expect to wake up to, it’s just a kick in the guts.”

SPCA Canterbury posted on social media that Polar had suffered a traumatic injury from a sharp object, causing him to die from blood loss.

Purcell said not knowing the circumstances of his dog’s death makes it harder to process.

The organisation has appealed for information from anyone who saw something suspicious around the understood time of the death - between 5.30am and 7.30am on Monday.

Polar was a large white dog, the organisation said, and would have been easy to spot.

“Our thoughts go out to Polar’s family who are understandably devastated to lose their boy.”

As for Purcell, he only wants to know who was responsible for his dog’s death.

“I just want justice, I want this person outed in the community,” he said.

“New Zealand is chewing through crap at the moment and then stuff like this happens, it’s such a violent country now. Aranui has definitely gone downhill, it doesn’t feel like a safe community anymore.”

The SPCA has asked that any resident living near Breezes Rd and Pages Rd check whether their CCTV cameras picked anything up.

“This will assist us with piecing together Polar’s movements and any suspicious activity,” said SPCA inspector, Sam Cairns.

“Some residents have already sent us footage which shows Polar walking down the road, but we’d be grateful for anything further.”