Meet Beans, 1 of 104 dogs seized from Lethbridge home last year

The Calgary Humane Society called her “one of the most extreme cases” of the 104 dogs seized from a Lethbridge home last year.

Beans and her house mates were malnourished, suffering medical issues and were living in “an abundance of feces and urine,” according to authorities.

Last January, David Michael Petiot, 61, plead guilty to one count of failing to provide adequate care for wounded or ill dogs under the Animal Protection Act.

He was fined $115 and was prohibited from owning any dogs or cats for a year. He’s permitted to own only one dog for the three years following his probation.

READ MORE: Lethbridge man pleads guilty to animal neglect charge after 101 dogs seized

When Beans appeared on Global News over a year ago, she was heavily medicated and even bit her handler.

But now, Beans is thriving. She was adopted in June and was carefully weaned off her behavioral medication by her new owner, Rachel Clark.

“Her personality has just come out so much more now that she’s had the opportunity to kind of see the world without a pane of glass in front of her,” Clark said.

The transition wasn’t easy.

“She really didn’t like to be touched,” Clark said. “She actually dragged a leash around the house for several months when we got her because that way, if you need to take her for walk or take her outside, you could just grab her leash instead of picking her up. She was really uncomfortable with that.”

READ MORE: Calgary Humane Society launches ‘Lethbridge Dogs Fund’ to help care for seized animals

The Calgary Humane Society said Beans was one of the last of the Lethbridge haul to be adopted out. While the organization can’t track progress for all of the dogs, officials said they’re happy to hear Beans is recovering so well.