Litter of malnourished puppies dropped off at Humane Society of Greater Niagara

The Humane Society of Greater Niagara agreed to take in a litter of puppies this week they thought were healthy and adoptable.

However, when the pups arrived, they were malnourished and in need of immediate care.

The nine-week-old bully mix puppies were dropped off at the society in St. Catharines on Tuesday, by a local resident who said they needed help with them.

“We were under the impression that we would be getting a group of healthy puppies that would just be ready to go up for adoption,” said Brianna Dingman, the community liaison with the Humane Society of Greater Niagara. “So we were a little bit shocked when they arrived and we saw the state that they were in.”

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While still very cute, they’re in rough shape.

“They are severely malnourished, emaciated as you can see,” said Dingman. They are having some hair loss, bloated — likely full of parasites — they haven’t received any vet care.”

One of the puppies has a rare condition called juvenile cellulitis, commonly known as puppy strangles.

“It’s an autoimmune disease that is actually pretty rare, but it can happen in puppies between three weeks to six months old,” said Dingman. “Basically, it affects the muzzle of the face, it swells up, and can impact the lymph nodes. They can get some little pustules and things like that.”

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He’ll be on a high dose of steroids and his face should clear up in a few months.

All together, the five puppies will need about $5,000 worth of care before they can be adopted.

“They are all going to be on a puppy food diet, and then of course, they require all of their vaccines and wormers, and things like that,” said Dingman. “It can become quite costly, especially for these larger litters, and then when they’re big enough and healthy enough, they’re all going to be spayed or neutered as well.”

The shelter is at max capacity right now, with over 200 dogs and cats, and dozens of other animals, so taking in a litter of puppies has been taxing.

READ MORE: Local shelter needs $30K for 27 rescued cats in Halton Region

“Litters like this are very impactful,” said Dingman. “It takes a lot of time for staff, a lot of spacing, especially as they start to grow.”

Shelter staff say they would rather have puppies like this dropped off with them, than the alternative.

“Honestly, the way that they were going, they likely could have passed away just from starvation, malnourishment — when they lack all of the things that they need as babies, it can really start affecting their organs and things like that,” said Dingman. “So it probably wouldn’t have been a very good outcome for these guys if they hadn’t come into our care.”

Keep an eye on the Humane Society of Greater Niagara’s social media for updates on the pups.

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