By Lara Fominoff @fomsy1 on Twitter with files from Geoff Smith @smithco on Twitter

Dogs Seized by Alberta SPCA came from Varsity Village home in Lethbridge

Mar 27, 2017 | 2:30 PM

LETHBRIDGE- The 96 dogs taken from a west Lethbridge home in the Varsity Village area last Friday (March 24), will remain at the Lethbridge Animal Shelter for the next 10 days.
 
According to Alberta SPCA Communications Manager Roland Lines, two of the younger dogs were larger breeds, while the rest were older small breeds, or mixes of small breeds.
 
A veterinarian was brought in to assess the dozens of animals on Friday evening.
 
“So far, no conditions requiring immediate euthanasia or emergency surgery have been found,” he explains. “But a more complete examination of the dogs is on going. There’s a veterinarian and vet technician working with one of our Peace Officers, and they’ll go through all of the dogs more thoroughly and document exactly what conditions they may have, and what treatment is required going forward.”
 
Lines says all of the dogs were being kept inside the house and it was a concerned neighbor who thought that the dogs were in distress, that initially contacted them through their 1-800 number.
 
Once alerted to the potential condition of the dogs, 2 SPCA Peace Officers, along with 4 personnel from Lethbridge Animal Services went to the home.
 
“With the assistance of the resident, they were able to collect all of the dogs.The fact that they were small dogs made it easier. But many hours were spent removing the dogs from the house.”
 
Lines admits that after the 10 days are up, the owner will have an opportunity to re-claim the animals – with conditions –  if they choose to do so.
 
“At this time though, we have had no communication about whether they want the animals back, or whether they want to surrender the animals to us.”
 
He says the reason the owner had so many animals will not likely become a part of the investigation because they have no authority to look into that. The SPCA is simply looking at distress in the animals and the level of care the animals were receiving.
 
“We may never know why there were so many animals there.”