Milk River rescue dogs recovering well, says AARCS

An animal rescue society says 201 dogs seized from a Milk River, Alta., acreage this winterare recovering well after months of neglect.

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Officials say the dogs were suffering from malnutrition, dehydrationand other injuries.

Deanna Thompson,the executive director of the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS), spokewith the Calgary Eyeopener's David Gray Tuesday morning about her organization's role in the operation.Click the audio button to hear the full interview.

Thompson said47 of the rescued dogs ended up in the care of AARCS, and all of them are now in foster homes. The rest of the rescued dogs were divided between other animal advocacy organizations in Alberta and B.C.

Thompson said allof the dogs are recovering well and are"putting some meat on their bones and getting that medical attention they need."

Among the more serious cases was a dog named Rupertwho was missing part of his leg. He hadamputation surgery on Monday.Another onea puppy with a broken jawis scheduled for a CT scan.

"Lots of them are dealing with really bad parasite infestations, so we're working on getting them de-wormed and making their tummies feel better," said Thompson.

Donations needed

Many Albertans have come forward to support AARCS in caring for the dogs.Thompson said the phone at AARCS has been ringing "off the hook" with offers of donations of cash and pet supplies.

She said the citizens of Chestermere raised $1,600 with a bottle drive over the weekend.

When asked how hard it will be to socialize the dogs, Thompson said the foster homes are reporting that the dogs are showing a dramatic difference already.Some are timid, but most, especially the puppies, are very social and not showing any aggression.

Many people have come forward wanting to provide permanent homes to the rescued dogs.

But first, Thompson said, AARCS wants to make sure they're healthyand that they are spayed and neutered before being placed in permanent homes.

For now, all the rescued dogs in the care of AARCS are eating a special and quite expensivefood for their stomach problems.

Thompsonasks concerned people to consider donating money to AARCS to cover the mounting medical bills for the dogs, which shesays will add up to many thousands of dollars.