More than two dozen of the 72 dogs seized from a rural Edmonton property last month are taking up residence in Calgary while they get ready to be adopted out.
According to the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) in Calgary, 25 of the Havanese-type dogs were brought down on the weekend to be cared for and eventually re-homed, the rescue said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Staff and volunteers at AARCS are giving each dog a medical assessment before they’re placed in foster homes, where they’ll live until they’re ready to be adopted.
Each of the dogs, which are mostly puppies, will be vaccinated, medically cleared and spayed or neutered before they’re adopted out, AARCS said.
“They’ll go into foster care and then, this week probably coming up, they’ll probably be spayed and neutered and then once they’ve recovered and we get to know them a little better — what kind of home would be good for them? Are they good with kids and other dogs? Then they’ll go up for adoption,” said AARCS executive director Deanna Thompson.
Thompson said the dogs are healthy for the most part, however, most of them are smelly and have stains from feces and urine, despite having several baths. She said it will take some time before the stains and smell is completely out of their fur.
July 30: An Edmonton woman is facing multiple charges after peace and police officers shut down an alleged puppy mill. As Vinesh Pratap reports, over 70 dogs were seized.
Sixty of the dogs, which were seized by the Edmonton Animal Care and Control Centre, are being sent to animal shelters in Alberta, with most being cared for by the Edmonton Humane Society, City of Edmonton spokesperson Mark Torjusen said. Twelve of the dogs are still in the care of Animal Care and Control until they’re ready to be moved. Mark Torjusen with the City of Edmonton said this was the first seizure for city officials since the municipality started taking over APA investigations.
The City of Edmonton said it could not speak to the medical condition of the dogs, to protect the integrity of the ongoing animal cruelty investigation related to the seizure.
Gloria Sears is facing both Criminal Code and Animal Protection Act (APA) charges for causing an animal to be in distress and failing to provide adequate care. She’s also charged with other APA offences including failing to provide adequate food and water, and failing to provide adequate shelter, space and ventilation.
According to officials, Edmonton police officers, along with Animal Control peace officers, searched a rural acreage in July, which was described as “having pretty much every square inch puppies in it.”
Investigators said puppies were found in playpens, on a covered porch, hidden in a closet and under a hutch.
The dogs, which ranged in age from two weeks old to adult, showed signs of being severely neglected and potentially ill, and the home reportedly had an “overwhelming stench of urine and feces.”
Global News caught up with one of the foster families at AARCS on Tuesday, as Karen Taylor and her children Callum and McKenna were there to pick up the two puppies they’re taking home.
Cotton and Flopsy will be the 10th and 11th dogs the Taylor family has fostered this year, including one currently at their home recovering from leg surgery.
“We knew that they’ve had a rough start to life and we have a little more time since it’s summer right now and thought that it’d be a nice opportunity to bring them into a loving home and show them what a little love and care can do and get them on their way to find a nice home,” Taylor said.
It’s expected the dogs at AARCS will be put up for adoption within the next two weeks.
Comments