It was back in February when the BC SPCA seized 46 badly neglected and feaful dogs from a rural property in Williams Lake.
Most of the animals ended up in the Okanagan at both the Penticton and Kelowna branches of the SPCA.
READ MORE: Okanagan animal shelter appeals for cooked chicken as it cares for seized dogs
Some of the dogs were pregnant at the time and have since given birth to puppies.
Five of those puppies are now up for adoption at the Kelowna shelter.
But even though they were born after the seizure, the puppies have, at times, displayed some signs of fear themselves.
“There is a lot of evidence in different scientific communities that fear can be passed on genetically as well,” Kelowna branch manager Sean Hogan said. “So we are just dealing with this layer of genetics really at play here.”
Most of the dogs that were seized have since been transferred and dispersed to shelters across B.C.
Hogan said that’s because the chance of successful rehabilitation is better with smaller groups of animals.
“If you are going to affect change in behaviour, you need to have a smaller number of animals to do that,” he said. “There is no way you can do that with so many animals.”
The Kelowna shelter continues to care for two of the adult dogs from Williams Lake but even with months of rehabilitation efforts, Hogan said their outlook isn’t very good.
“Their prognosis isn’t the greatest, I won’t kid you on that,” he told Global News. “We kept a couple of the tougher cases here in Kelowna, as we have the staff and resources here, but it’s been very difficult going and seeing the dogs plateau, unable to put a leash on them or take them for a walk even at three or four months into care, it’s challenging.”
Some of the extreme cases have not ended well with a few of the dogs having to be euthanized.
“Several reasons would be given for euthanasia. In this case psychological distress is in itself, it immobilizes you,” Hogan said.
“So if you are that fearful that you evacuate immediately, that you start to shiver in the presence of another being, what that means is that your caregiver can’t actually provide you with care.
“Like how do you get to a veterinarian if you need to, how do you get the mats removed from you if you can’t be touched? And I think those kinds of things are difficult to wrestle with for any of us but the fact is if you cannot provide adequate care then you have to make a decision that this animal is suffering because you cannot provide that care.”
Hogan is once again thanking the community for stepping forward shortly after the animals arrived in the Okanagan saying the shelter was overwhelmed with donations of food and gift cards.
“We want to thank community of Kelowna and the central Okanagan for helping support the BC SPCA,” Hogan said. “This was very tough case file for the staff and volunteers, myself included. Any of us involved have had a great interest in helping the animals succeed and be set up for success.”
As for the puppies now up for adoption, anyone interested is asked to contact the Kelowna SPCA.
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