A group of Quebec men stumbled upon a horrific scene when they discovered 19 dead Huskies at a competitor's kennel, northeast of Montreal. Another 26 dogs were barely alive.
"We found a dog dead, still tied to the chain, and it was just a skeleton," rescuer Guy Racicot told CTV Montreal Thursday.
"There was a puppy in a pen with other puppies that had been eaten ... The dogs were dehydrated to the point where their eyes were sunken into the backs of their heads."
He found the dogs Tuesday night and questioned the owner, who at first claimed someone poisoned the animals.
"And then after a little bit of convincing he decided to tell us he hadn't fed them in over two weeks," said Racicot.
The owner agreed to hand over the surviving Huskies to Racicot, who is caring for them at his own kennel.
"There was no choice, they all would have been dead," said Racicot.
"All of us are the same way in the summer. We have a hard time living through the summer to make it through winter, but we all manage to take care of our dogs. If we can't, we give them away."
CTV attempted to reach the owner, but there was no answer at his door and he did not return phone calls.
Quebec provincial police officers visited the dogs to take photographs and document their health. But they needed a veterinarian to certify the dogs were abused, in order to obtain a warrant to search the owner's kennel.
Racicot said finding veterinarians willing to care for the dogs has been difficult, and is nursing them back to the health with his partners.
"They say they have no time," said Racicot. "We say, well, when you finish your shift could you just come up and sign us a note? But they say 'No, my shift is over.' These people are supposed to love animals."
Racicot claimed to have called dozens of veterinarians with no success.
Pierre Barnoti, of Quebec's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said his organization is willing to help the huskies.
"If (Racicot) found a local vet, we at the SPCA would call the vet and offer to pay for his time to go and look after the animals," said Barnoti.
Meanwhile, another dog has died. Racicot hopes it's not too late to save the others, but he's running out of supplies.
He and his partners have little money to care for the Huskies, but local pet stores have given them donations. An Alberta man has also offered $500 worth of dog food.
Anyone who wants to offer donations can contact Guy Racicot, in Saint-Jean-de-Matha, at (450) 886-2079.
With a report by CTV Montreal's Cindy Sherwin
