Volunteers of dog rescue scour Sask. garbage dump to rescue litter of puppies

Seven fluffy puppies rescued from a cold garbage dump in Saskatchewan over the last few days are warm, fed and in good health, according to an animal rescue in Regina.

The Bright Eyes Dog Rescue in Regina was notified by a community member that they had found puppies they believe wereleft behind by a stray dog located at a garbage dump in the province. Megan Jane, a spokesperson for the volunteer-run dog rescue, said they weren't at liberty to disclose its location.

Volunteers from the rescue went down to the garbage dump and gathered three puppies on Friday. They bathed and fed them. One was so dirty that volunteers didn't discover it was actually "bright, snowy white" until all the grime was removed from its coat.

On a whim, they went back on Sunday. After scouting the dump, they found four more.

Two of them were relatively easy to gather, she said, but the other two were not.

"Oftentimes if they're born at the dump like that, they've never had any interaction before, [they're] pretty afraid," Jane said "They've never seen a kind human before."

"I know some of our volunteers were out there for a few hours [Sunday], in the freezing cold, traipsing through tires and garbage and sticks and mud and trees," she said.

Jane believes the dogs were outside for several days, but may have survived because of their thick winter coat.

Now, the puppies are in the care of the dog rescue and in good health, Jane said, bathed, fed and coddled in blankets but still skittish and uncertain about what to do with their toys.

If an owner doesn't come forward, the dogs will be processed as rescue dogs, be fostered and then go through the proper phases to find a new home. Jane suspects that the puppies could be up for adoption as soon as January.

That includes a mandatory two-week medical hold, including vaccinations and health check.

"I think it's the best possible ending for these seven little pups that could have had a very different future if no one had been to the dump that day," Jane said.

The dogs haven't received names yet, but Jane assumes they'll soon receive a title to match the holiday season or how lucky they were to be found.

This fall and winter season has been the busiest on record for the dog rescue. They currently have 120 dogs in their care, Jane said, with about 475 dogs rescued in 2021 so far.