Man charged following joint animal abuse investigation by police, Calgary Humane Society

A man has been charged following an investigation into multiple incidents of animal abuse that took place this year.

On July 12, at approximately 6:25 a.m., Calgary Transit peace officers saw a man striking and kicking his dog through CCTV cameras at the Marlborough CTrain station.

Then, on Dec. 9, at 3:35 p.m., the same man was seen again on CCTV at the City Hall CTrain station. He was observed striking his dog several times.

Calgary Transit officers detained the man. They also seized the dog, which was placed into the care of the Calgary Humane Society. The man was given conditions to regain ownership, but ultimately forfeited the dog after he failed to meet them.

On Dec. 16, at approximately 5:20 p.m., the man entered the Calgary Humane Society property and stole the dog from a volunteer dog walker.

He was detained by peace officers until police arrived, where he was arrested and charged with theft under $5,000, and ordered to stay away from the property.

Despite the order, the man returned on Dec. 22 and 23, when he was arrested.

Through a joint investigation by the Calgary Police Service and Calgary Humane Society, Joshua James Mulligan, 41, was charged with multiple animal abuse-related offences, including two counts each of causing injury to an animal and an owner willfully causing pain and suffering to an animal; two counts of breach of a release order; and one count of possession of methamphetamine.

Mulligan is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 14, 2026.

The dog is safe and continues to remain with the Calgary Humane Society.

Anyone with information relating to the incident is asked to contact police by calling 403-266-1234 or via Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477, visiting the organization’s website at calgarycrimestoppers.org, or using the P3 Tips app.