Dozens of dogs living in their own filth surrendered from Merritt home

Dozens of dogs surrendered

Photo: Angel's Animal Rescue

Dozens of dogs were surrendered by a Merritt resident last month.

Dozens of dogs found living in their own feces have been surrendered by a Merritt resident who got “in over his head."

The BC SPCA and Merritt's Angel's Animal Rescue were among the agencies that took part in a Jan. 12 rescue that saw 47 dogs seized from a single home.

Judanna Dawn, the owner of Angel's Animal Rescue, said the owner was “quite willing” to surrender the dogs, which were living in “deplorable” conditions.

“They lived in sheds, they lived in old fifth-wheel trailers that were no longer in use, they lived in an abandoned house that was flooded in 2021,” she said.

“It took me days to get the smell out of my nose, those dogs were living, sleeping, eating and drinking in their own feces for who knows how many years.”

Dawn said her rescue agency took in 20 of the dogs.

Matt Affleck, BC SPCA regional manager of animal protection, told Castanet the agency itself took in another 27 dogs over the course of three visits to the property.

“It's just somebody that got very overwhelmed and didn't know the right people to call at the time,” he said.

“We’ve had this problem since COVID with breeders, it was a really good time during COVID to buy and sell puppies and then once COVID was over that whole world just stopped, so people get stuck with these dogs and they can’t sell them or they can’t give them away.”

Affleck said the owner was “very cooperative” and was happy to surrender the dogs.

He said most of the dogs SPCA took in are now up for adoption and the file is still open to “tie up loose ends.”

Reminder to reach out

Dawn said several neighbours called city bylaw services with concerns with the dogs at the residence, but she said that didn’t lead to any action. Dawn believes the dogs could have been rescued earlier and that bylaw should have been enforcing the city’s two-dog limit.

“When the bylaw knows that this is happening right under their noses, and it was 27 plus dogs — how did that happen?” she said.

In a brief statement provided to Castanet on behalf of the City of Merritt and Mayor Mike Goetz, it said the city enforces its animal control bylaws and works in collaboration with SPCA, RCMP and other agencies when animal welfare concerns arise.

"The BC SPCA has primary responsibility for investigating animal cruelty under provincial legislation," the statement reads.

Affleck said SPCA tries to respond to calls as quickly as it can and prioritizes files based on urgency. He said the agency responded to the Merritt home the day after it received a call from a concerned citizen.

He said BC SPCA won’t be pursuing charges against the owner.

“Where somebody hasn't intentionally harmed animals, we really want to get compliance and get that education and let people know the resources, that the SPCA is here,” Affleck said.

“If people are in these situations to reach out, our officers are very kind, non-judgmental, and we'll work with people to help them with whatever they need.”

Dawn stressed the importance of citizens reporting instances of animal abuse and neglect.

“Don't let go of it, make sure that if you know something is wrong that it's getting handled,” she said.