Fourteen puppies are a whole lot of cute, work, fun and a little bit of trouble. Add being evacuated from your home due to wildfires and you might just find yourself in a tricky situation.
That’s what happened to Alex Afonso, who is staying with a friend in Vernon temporarily.
“It is noisy first thing in the morning when they are all hungry. They’re yippin’ and all 14, so just imagine,” said Afonso.
After being evacuated from his home three weeks ago with a large litter of puppies, Afonso’s friend offered him, the puppies and their dog mom, Roxanne, a place to stay. However, the neighbours weren’t too happy with the addition to the street.
Multiple complaints were made to Animal Control in Vernon, and that’s when they stepped in to help on Aug. 23.
“I believe we had quite a few calls coming from the household and our original plan was to go there and give tickets however when we talk to Alex and found out that he was an evacuee and found out his situation,” said Animal Control officer Ashley Sissons.
“‘We said, ‘OK, well, we can get creative with this,’ so we took them all to the shelter and brought all 14 puppies here free of charge.”
That meant Sissons, who is a dog lover, could spend some quality time with the pack while Afonso could take some much-needed rest after months of providing around-the-clock care to the dogs and catch up on his studies to become a veterinarian.
“It relieved me and I was able to work on more of my schooling and just catch up on pretty much everything,” said Afonso.
Now Afonso and the puppies are reunited for a short while, half of the litter will be going to their new homes within two weeks and the other half are still in need of a good family and are able to be adopted.
To inquire about one of the eight puppies available for adoption you can reach Afonso at 250-421-2785.