Finding new homes
Adoption process for 17 husky puppies underway at the P.E.I. Humane Society
The 17 husky puppies seized by the P.E.I. Humane Society in November are going to their forever homes.
Jennifer Harkness, development manager for the society, said 34 hopeful owners showed up at the Charlottetown animal shelter last Wednesday to meet the pups in person and fill out applications for adoption.
The shelter limited the process to two applications per puppy.
“We’re now going through all those applications and trying to get them home as quickly as possible,’’ Harkness said. “We have to look though each application and really try to find out who is the most suitable (owner).’’
That responsibility falls to the shelter’s adoption co-ordinator who will sift through the applications to get an idea of who the applicants are, what kind of home they can provide, how much time they’ll be spending with the dog, what kind of training they’re familiar with or whether they’d be open to having the dog trained.
“Those are the kinds of questions that we ask during the application process, and that really tells us a lot, if this is the right fit for this particular dog. With all dogs in our care, we go through this process.’’
Investigators responded to a complaint from the community regarding the dogs who were at an Island breeding facility.
Harkness said some of the requirements set out under the Animal Welfare Act and the Canadian Kennel Code weren’t being met. The investigation found that the adult dogs were fine and healthy, but the puppies had lesions on their bodies.
The puppies, which are about 11 weeks old now, were sleeping on wet materials, and the building was cold.
“There wasn’t sufficient heating in the building, so we took the puppies into immediate care," said Harkness.
The society also seized the two mother dogs. The 17 puppies came from two separate litters.
The owner, who the society hasn’t identified, appealed the seizure. The provinciallyappointed appeal board ruled the seizure was justified, but if the breeder could make improvements to the facility the animals could be returned.
She said the owner did make significant improvements with regard to heating, materials, flooring and the size of the kennels but not in time to meet the deadline that was set for the puppies. However, once the puppies were weaned, the mother dogs were returned to the breeder.
The society continues to monitor the situation with the breeder.
After the puppies were seized and received the necessary medical care they were placed into foster homes where they thrived.
“The foster (people) were absolutely in love with them. They’re really smart and curious. (The puppies) kept them on their toes.’’