The majority of the dogs seized late last week from a rural property in Williams Lake have ended up in the Okanagan.
Forty-six dogs, ranging from American Eskimos and Border Collies to Huskies and Samoyed crosses, were seized due to a lack of shelter, poor sanitation and inadequate veterinary care, according to the BC SPCA.
READ MORE: BC SPCA treating dozens of dogs seized near Williams Lake
Twenty of the dogs are in the care of the Kelowna SPCA, 24 are being looked after at the Penticton SPCA, and two are in Quesnel.
They are anxious, uneasy and very fearful.
“They have not been socialized to people, they really do not know people,” Kelowna SPCA branch manage Sean Hogan said.
The animals are being assessed to determine the best course of action for what’s expected to be a long road of rehabilitation.
“When an animal has gone past that golden period of socialization, it is extremely difficult to teach them things — like even cement or a dish or a collar or a finger or a hand reaching out to stroke them — isn’t going to hurt them. You know these are things these dogs do not know,” Hogan said.
The dogs have been put on anti-anxiety medication to address their psychological distress.
“We had to fully sedate some of the dogs to really get a good look in their mouths,” Hogan said. “There are a few that have to get some extractions so they are not in pain.”
For people who wish to help support the neglected animals, there are a number of ways to do so including making a monetary donation on the SPCA’s website. Click here.
“Also keep an eye on social media,” Hogan said. “We’ll post in the next few days any of our needs, whether it is for towels or whether it is for food or any other types of things.”
Hogan also told Global News the immediate appeal is for cooked chicken.
“I can tell you right now that if anyone wanted to go out there and buy some cooked chicken like at Costco or something like that, that is actually a very helpful thing and saves us some money,” Hogan said. “We have been giving them a lot of high-value food like chicken so that we can build some trust and rapport with them.”
Staff at the Kelowna shelter expect the animals to be in their care for a while.
“The case is actually in a seizure status at the moment ,which gives the individual rights to dispute the case and that process can take weeks so at the moment we are trying to prepare for the dogs to be in our care for a couple of months even,” Hogan said.
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