68 dogs taken from 'horrific conditions' in Winnipeg home: animal services

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Dozens of dogs were removed from a Winnipeg home where they were living in "horrific conditions," the head of the city's animal services department says.

Animal services officers received an emergency request earlier Wednesday from the Winnipeg Police Service for assistance regarding a large number of dogs living in "essentially inhumane conditions," animal services general manager Leland Gordon said during a news conference later in the day.

Winnipeg police officers were called to the house for a well-being check and found the dogs.

Animal services officers who responded "discovered really horrific conditions" in the home on Brentlawn Boulevard, in the Richmond West area of south Winnipeg, Gordon said.

"There were 68 dogs in that home —  smaller-breed dogs. There was a horrific stench of urine, feces, lots of puppies in there."

The dogs have a range of health issues, such as eye conditions. Many had feces in their fur, said Gordon.

He said he doesn't know at this time if any of the dogs will have to be put down. 

Seeing the number of dogs seized, and their condition, was "mind boggling" and "sad," he said.

"It's unacceptable," said Gordon.

No information was provided about the homeowner. Speaking at Wednesday's news conference, Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Claude Chancy said police typically don't disclose the age, gender or specific location of people involved in well-being calls because of privacy concerns. 

No criminal charges are pending, Chancy said.

However, "we're going to engage the Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw to the fullest extent possible," said Gordon.

Under city bylaws, no more than four dogs are allowed to live in one household. In special circumstances, a person can apply for an excess animal permit to own more than the legal limit.

Long road ahead for dogs: humane society CEO

The Winnipeg Humane Society is arranging medical care and boarding for the animals while police investigate.

CEO Jessica Miller said the shelter is "absolutely full to the max," and it will be expensive to get the dogs ready for adoption.

"They're going to require a ton of grooming, medical care — often in small breeds such as this there are a lot of dental problems, which are costly and take a lot of time to deal with," she said at Wednesday's news conference.

"A case of this size could cost us up and around $150,000 to deal with."

Miller said the humane society has an emergency fund set up on its website and is encouraging donations, but is asking the public not to call about possible adoptions of the seized dogs yet.

Both Miller and Gordon said the case points to how important it is for people to ask for help when they need it.

"We know that people don't mean to do these things sometimes, and it's a matter of knowing when to ask for help," said Miller.

Gordon said if anyone sees someone who is "getting to the point where their dog collection is getting out of control, they need to reach out to help for social services, to our friends at the Winnipeg Humane Society."

He also pleaded with the public to spay and neuter their pets, and to make sure they have their vaccinations and licences. 

Spaying and neutering isn't just about preventing overpopulation — it also helps with reducing aggression and urgency to roam, Gordon said.

Animal services was already over its capacity for dogs before Wednesday's seizure, and nearly all of the dogs that come in to animal services aren't spayed and neutered or licensed, and typically don't have any identification tags, Gordon said.

All of that leads to "back-breaking work" that is "incredibly stressful and heartbreaking" for staff and volunteers at animal services and shelters, he said.

"We need our members of the community to talk to their friends, their family, their co-workers, and for the love of God, tell them ... to spay and neuter their pets, because we have too many dogs and cats out here," said Gordon.