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A B.C. man whose dog ingested, fentanyl, cocaine and meth, and was regularly found to be high on drugs, has failed in his attempt to have the dog returned to him.

According to a recently published Feb. 27 B.C. Farm Industry Review Board decision, the dog named Bailey was seized by the B.C. SPCA in December last year after it received multiple reports the dog was regularly high on drugs.

On one occasion Bailey needed a dose of NarCan when it was thought she'd overdosed.

The decision says Bailey's owner, referred to only as K.R., lives in a harm reduction building and regularly uses drugs. The location of the residence isn't disclosed in the decision.

Bailey isn't the first dog to need saving after an opioid overdose. Last fall, a B.C. woman living in a supportive housing unit had her dog seized after it needed NarCan.

READ MORE: B.C. woman who had to NarCan dog loses appeal to get pitbull back

Over the course of 2022, B.C. SPCA staff made several visits to see K.R. following reports from staff at the building that Bailey was on drugs.

"Bailey was regularly exhibiting the symptoms of heroin intoxication from ingesting or inhaling the drug while in (K.R.'s) room," the decision reads.

One staff member described bailey as being "a totally different dog" before and after exposure to drugs.

"Bailey’s eyes would be dilated, her tail would be between her legs, her ears would be down, and she would be woozy, coughing and vomiting," the decision says. "Bailey was walking slowly, shaking and whimpering... (and) had been unable to stand."

The decision says staff offered to care take of Bailey when K.R. was using drugs in his room, but he refused.

"The staff member noted that if not showing signs of drug poisoning in the morning, Bailey would often be intoxicated when staff took her for her afternoon walk," the decision says.

READ MORE: 'Very remorseful': Clearwater man who had 13 dogs seized says he didn't neglect them

A blood test found Bailey positive for opioids, cocaine and amphetamines. While positive for drugs a vet had said the dog did not need any more medical help.

After Bailey was seized K.R. applied to have the dog returned.

K.R. argued that he didn't do drugs in his room when the dog was there and that Bailey must have ingested the drugs while out for a walk, or in the corridors of the building. He denied that Bailey had been repeatedly exposed to drugs inside his unit. He testified that he'd stopped smoking drugs around Bailey and had an air purifier.

During the hearing, K.R. repeatedly made the claim that Bailey picked the drugs up when out of his unit.

However, the Review Board didn't buy it.

The Review Board said there was a wealth of evidence that K.R. had been using drugs when Bailey was in his unit and the dog was overdosing regularly.

K.R. denied this and said he must have had an "enemy" in the building as what was being said wasn't true.

In his testimony, K.R. also said that if Bailey had been ingesting as many drugs as being said then the dog would be showing signs of addiction and that wasn't the case.

READ MORE: Princeton artist who 'didn't believe in vets' has dog seized

"The evidence shows that Bailey had demonstrated behaviours that were consistent with repeated drug intoxication," the Review Board ruled.

Ultimately, the Review Board dismissed K.R.'s challenge to get the dog back.

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