Posted on 10:52 PM by Oluwole Aro with No comments
ALTA. FARM DOG RESCUE?
THIS DAY DOG NEWS
Hundreds of neglected and emaciated dogs have been rescued from a rural
property in Alberta, in what the province's SPCA is calling the largest
case of dog neglect in its history.
The Alberta SPCA has seized 200 dogs from a home in Milk River in the last month.
The dogs were removed from a farm east of Milk River near the U.S.
border earlier this month. According to court documents, most were
chained to posts in and around abandoned vehicles and farm machinery,
and some had no protection from the winter cold.
The animals' owner, April Irving, voluntarily surrendered 60 dogs in December, following a complaint from a neighbour.
Another 141 were seized by the SPCA two weeks ago, with the help of
peace officers who arrived with a search warrant. Five dead puppies were
also removed from the property.
A dozen animal rescue groups throughout Alberta are now caring for the
dogs, including the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS), based in
Calgary.
One of the dogs rescued in Milk River is shown in his image from the Alberta SPCA.
AARCS Executive Director Deanna Thompson says even seasoned rescue workers are shocked at the condition of some of the dogs.
"The animals are in horrible condition," she told CTV Lethbridge,
noting that most of the dogs were emaciated, had skin conditions and
badly matted fur.
"We've seen a lot of injuries," Thompson said. "We have a dog with a
broken leg, a puppy with a broken jaw, another dog that's missing a
leg."
Thompson says her group sees a lot of cases of abuse and neglect, but this is by far the worst in its history.
The dogs’ owner is well known to animal rescue officials. Court
documents show the SPCA had to seize dogs from Irving in 2007, when she
was living in Fort McMurray. Then in 2010, the Saskatchewan SPCA had to
remove 82 dogs from her property near Foam Lake.
Several breeds of dogs were seized in this incident, including Huskies,
Irish wolf hounds and Malamutes. In previous seizures, Irving has
characterized herself as a dog breeder. But Roland Lines of the Alberta
SPCA says his group is not even sure why the owner had so many dogs.
"There's no evidence of any kind of organized breeding facility. The
individual didn't seem to be rescuing dogs in any sense. (She) seems to
have just collected a large number of dogs and then allowed them to
interbreed," he said.
Irving filed a statement of claim against the SPCA, seeking to have all
the dogs and items of her property returned. She says all she wants to
do is live in peace with her animals.
That appeal has been denied and ownership of the animals has been transferred to AARCS.
The rescue group says many of the dogs will need extensive vet care and
long-term treatment before they are healthy enough to be put up for
adoption.
So far, no charges have been laid. The SPCA says the investigation continues.
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