A mother dog who was allegedly beaten and force-fed drugs and alcohol is now safely in the care of a foster home alongside her 10 puppies
Acting on a tip that the owner was abusing the four-year-old German short-haired pointer, the B.C. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals seized the pooch and her litter from an area home and took them to the shelter in Prince George.
A check by a veterinarian revealed fractures and scarring and a further test confirmed toxic ingestion. Despite the abuse, the mother dog remains friendly.
"Mama dog loves humans," said animal welfare officer Rachel Cook. "She wants to sit on your lap. She wants to hold hands with her paw. She's just so sweet."
The mother and pups have since been accepted into a foster home and are doing well, according to the SPCA. The pups, now two weeks old, have been gaining weight and have just opened their eyes and will be ready for adoption once they have reached eight weeks in age. The mother will be ready for adoption shortly after that once she's been spayed.
"She is doing well and doing such a great job looking after her babies. She is going to make a great family dog in a few months," said Cook. "They've been through a lot. We're so proud of them."
Prince George SPCA manager Alex Schare said the incident shows why the SPCA's cruelty investigations teams are so important.
"If it wasn't for them this dog would likely still be in this very bad situation with her puppies and both her and their welfare would be poor," he said. "She deserves great treatment and that is not what she was getting before."
