Canucks' Sven Baertschi to help animals by getting locked up

The Vancouver Canucks locked up Sven Baertschi with a two-year extension in June. On Friday afternoon, the forward will get locked up in a different way in order to help out animals.

As part of the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Lock-In for Love fundraiser, Baertschi, his girlfriend Laura, and other area personalities will be locked inside dog kennels until $4,000 “bail” is raised.

“We do a lot of stuff here with people and children’s hospitals, and it’s an awesome thing to do,” Baertschi, a dog owner himself, told Pat Pickens of NHL.com. “But we can’t forget about our best friends. [Animals] are a big part of our lives. … There are cats in need. There are dogs in need. And sometimes people forget about it. So we’re trying to bring awareness to local dog shelters and all these animals that are left out in the world.”

Baertschi and his girlfriend have done this before when he was with the Calgary Flames, getting locked up with Brian McGrattan, Matt Stajan and their wives in 2014.

The funds raised by the 10 participants will go to help British Columbia animals that are abused, neglected, homeless, injured and sick animals.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy