‘They would have been coyote food.’ Litter of beagle puppies abandoned in Adjala-Tosorontio
It shouldn’t even need to be said, but the Alliston and District Humane Society is sending out a message to any pet owners who think a drive out into the country is an acceptable way to get rid of their animals.
“It’s really sad,” said dog program co-ordinator Emily Day. “I just wish people would just take their animals to a shelter, that’s why we are here.”
The most recent dog dumping incident happened Friday, Aug. 17 after a box of five beagle puppies were found in a ditch in Adjala-Tosorontio.
“A person driving past saw one of them on the side of the road,” she said. “She stopped her car and went and looked down into the ditch under the bush and found four more.”
Another litter of beagles was found by a neighbouring dog shelter.
“They look very similar, so they are all probably from the same litter,” she said.
The 10-week old puppies appear to be in good health, but one is lethargic and isn’t eating.
“My gut feeling is they were puppies someone couldn’t sell, which is sad,” she said.
The shelter is also caring for an adult shepherd/Great Dane cross that was dumped in the country.
“She was panicking, just running from car to car trying to find someone who would let her in,” she said.
Day said the dog was likely used for breeding but was severely neglected and had open sores in her ears infested with maggots.
“She looks like a bag of bones,” she said.
Animal dumping is sadly a common occurrence in the area, especially with kittens.
“If that lady hadn’t seen that one puppy they would have been coyote food,” she said. “Some person basically drove them out into the country and left them here to die, and that’s horrible.”
There’s another reason why people shouldn’t dump their animals.
“If anything, dumping them off in the middle of nowhere is abandonment, and there will be a charge for that,” she said.
Day said the beagle puppies will likely be ready for adoption by the end of the week.
The shelter is currently at capacity for dogs. The next open houses take place Saturday, Aug. 26 and Sept. 8.
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Editor’s note: A correction was made to this article Aug. 23. The original version incorrectly stated the open houses take place on Sunday. Simcoe.com regrets the error.