A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Coquitlam man accused in a shocking case of animal cruelty.

Willow was found wandering the streets and starving in Maple Ridge in January 2015. The young and emaciated malamute/husky cross weighed only 15 kilograms when she was rescued by a Good Samaritan who brought her to the local SPCA. It appeared that Willow had been eating gravel to stay alive.

A year later, Yu Lin, a Coquitlam man in his 20s, was charged under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, following a BC SPCA investigation. A warrant has been out for his arrest ever since he failed to appear in court in May.

Willow was adopted by a new family and is now thriving in her new home.

– With files from Amy Judd