Kelowna SPCA requesting help caring for 20 neglected dogs seized from BC property

After 46 dogs were removed from a property near Williams Lake this week, 20 of them were sent to the SPCA Kelowna branch to be rehabilitated.

Sean Hogan, the branch manager, says that the majority of the dogs are still showing signs of psychological distress after being discovered in poor living conditions.

He says they are still not comfortable with human contact, and that being in a shelter doesn’t make recovery easy, having to deal with volunteers and staff approaching them. To make it easier, they have been using “high-value foods” to turn their situation into more of a happy event and less of a sad one.

“We are seeing some progress with some of the dogs. They are on anti-anxiety medication so that helps, and we’re also using high-value foods, like chicken or hot dogs that we’ve been asking the public to donate,” Hogan says.

The branch is looking for donations that will help them give the dogs the support that they need, and have provided a wish list to give people some guidelines on what will be most useful.

“At this point, one of the things that would really help us out the most is really just gift cards to Save On, Costco, that sort of thing so we can purchase high-value food as we need it,” Hogan says.

The public is also welcome to bring lightly used blankets, but Hogan says that duvets are not ideal because the dogs will often just rip the stuffing out.

“It’s hard to wrap one's head around, but they really aren’t used to domestic things, they’re used to living in snow and feces,” he says.

If you’d like to help out by donating items to the Kelowna branch, they have put together the wish list below, which includes things like laundry soap pods and towels.

As for things that aren’t helpful, Hogan says that they are asking that people refrain from coming by to meet the dogs or enquire about their adoption. They are not able to give much detail on them or allow visiting because they are under protective custody with the SPCA’s animal cruelty department.

Although the dogs are not yet ready for adoption, Hogan says that he remains hopeful, but it is “a long road to recovery.”