The recent surrender of six young dogs to the BC SPCA is being held up as a reminder of the challenges that caring for animals can be, as well as that help is available if needed.

The German Shepard-cross pups were surrendered by someone living on a property in the Kamloops area on June 10th, after the SPCA was alerted to the condition of the young animals.

“They have a long road to recovery,” said Meranda Dussault, Manager of the BC SCPA Shuswap.  “When they came in, they were in a very dangerous condition.”

The six were brought in both under-fed and severely dehydrated.

“You can only get to a certain level of dehydration before your organs start shutting down on you,” noted Dussault.  “These puppies were dangerously close to that, so we were lucky to get them in that day.”

The six have since been undergoing intensive IV treatments to get their bodies to a point where they can start eating more regularly and start putting on weight.

Dussault notes that the puppies have the appearance of being around 8 weeks old, when in fact they are 7-month-old dogs.

“These puppies are all roughly around 14 pounds,” noted Dussault.  “The standard size for their age is 50 pounds.”

While on the surface this would appear to be a case of animal cruelty, in this instance, the BC SPCA says the owner of the puppies’ mother had been trying to find new homes for the accidental litter but became overwhelmed and could not keep up with their needs.

“If you’re in a situation where you are overwhelmed and you have animals that you’re unable to care for, we have our food bank program here at the SPCA,” noted Dussault.  “We have a ton of knowledge and resources and are always happy to assist.”

At the same time, she credits the person who alerted authorities to the situation.

“The reason why we got this call and officers investigated it was because someone saw something, and they said something,” noted Dussault.  “I think that that’s a very powerful message.”

Dussault says while the puppies will need at least a month to recover, the expectation is they will be available at some point for adoption.

While the mother is known to be a German Shepard, the breed of the father is not 100% clear, though Dussault says there are suggestions a Husky mix may be involved.