Puppies found abandoned in box at Pine Falls dump

Animal rescue groups in Manitobaare raising alarms after seven abandoned puppies were found in a box at the landfill in Pine Fallsover the weekend.

The puppies were between four and five weeks old and appeared to be in good health when they were discovered on Sunday, said Ernie Stacey, founder of Anishinabe Sunset Country Animal Rescue.

"It's kind of heart-breaking, but it's not the first time that we've seen that," he told CBC News late Monday.

Another six abandoned puppies were found last week, Stacey said, adding that the group has rescued a total of about 20 puppies from the dump in the last three months.

The puppies that were rescued from the dump on Sunday are now in the care of Manitoba Underdogs Rescue, a group based in Winnipeg.

"Thankfully, these guys looked in pretty good shape," Deanne Peterson, the group's assistant executive director, told CBC News on Tuesday.

"They were found pretty quickly, so we were able to keep them hydrated and they're on food now, so they're doing realy well."

Stacey said part of the problem is that dog owners from the Sagkeeng First Nation, located near Pine Falls, cannot afford to spay or neuter their pets.

"The owners are begging us, 'Can you help me get my dog done, because I don't want her to have puppies again?' We're going through all this because once they have the puppies, they just throw them out," he said.

The group delivers pet food to 75 families a week who cannot afford to feed their pets more than 150 dogs in all. The food is donated from Winnipeg, Stacey said.

"This is what happens all these dogs can't get fixed because they don't have the money to fix them and the outcome is puppies," he said.

The lack of access to a veterinarian, and a lack of funding, are a reality for most First Nations communities, saidSagkeeng First Nation Chief Derrick Henderson.

"We don't even have a dog catcher, you know, and it's difficult when you have all these dogs running around," Henderson said.

"Something's going to happen with one of our children that's my fear. How do you control the dog population in your community?"

Peterson said abandoned animals are not uncommon in rural and remote communities.

"There's no spay/neuter optionsavailablereadily to these communities. There's not a vet nearby or if the families are low-income, then they're not able to have their pet fixed," she said.

Stacey said the First Nation did raise $10,000 to have a mobile spay and neuter clinic come to the reserve a while ago.

• Manitoba mobile clinic helps control dog population

The mobileclinic helped control the pet population by spaying and neutering more than 100 dogs, but he said the problem is out of control again.

Peterson said the public can help by donating to groups such asAnishinabeSunset Country Animal Rescue and Manitoba Underdogs that can facilitate spay/neuter programs in communities.

The Anishinabe Sunset Country Animal Rescue is hosting an event at the Sagkeeng Treatment Centre gym on Saturday evening to raise money toward providing basic veterinary care to more pets, including shots and spaying and neutering services.

As for the puppies that were found at the dump, they were reunited with their mother on Tuesday afternoon. They will be put up for adoption at a later date.