COLIN CORNEAU/THE BRANDON SUN
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Amanda Hatfield of the Brandon Hills Veterinary Clinic shows four of the five puppies rescued from Sandy Lake after their mother was killed.
Five orphaned puppies are safe and sound, but a Brandon Humane Society official would like to know who shot and killed their mom.
The matter has been reported to police, and Tracy Munn said she hopes that anyone with information will step forward.
"That’s against the law," Tracy Munn said. "You can’t walk onto somebody’s property and shoot their dog."
Munn points out that the mom was caring for the pups when she was killed and their owners were out of town at the time.
"You would have left those puppies to die a horrible death," Munn said of the shooter. "That’s so awful."
It appears that Blizzard, a Blue Heeler cross, was shot at her farm home near Sandy Lake sometime May 11-12.
Her owner, who asked not to be named, said Blizzard gave birth to five puppies about a week before she and her husband went to Toronto for their daughter’s wedding.
The couple left home on May 9 and a neighbour had agreed to stop by daily to ensure Blizzard had food and water. The dog’s pups were feeding from their mother.
When Blizzard’s owners returned on Monday, the neighbour informed them that their beloved dog had been found on May 12 barely alive in her dog house with a bullet wound behind her ear. The neighbour had last checked on the dogs the day before Blizzard was found, their owner said.
Blizzard couldn’t be saved, but the puppies, which were also in the dog house, were safe and they were cared for by the neighbour until the owners returned.
Blizzard’s owners aren’t able to care for all the puppies, however, so they kept one and took the rest to the Brandon Humane Society on Wednesday.
They appear to be in good health and Amanda Hatfield, a registered animal health technician at the Brandon Hills Veterinary Clinic, has agreed to care for them for six to eight weeks — until they’re old enough to return to the Humane Society shelter.
"They seem pretty happy and healthy right now," Hatfield said.
With their eyes barely beginning to open, it’s estimated that the pups are only two to three weeks old.
At this age, they have to be bottle-fed special formula every couple of hours and will have to be bottle-fed for the next couple of weeks.
Once the little dogs return to the shelter, they’ll be available for adoption.
The shooting of Blizzard has been reported to Shoal Lake RCMP.
» ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 17, 2012
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