‘Compulsively eating objects’: Group of severely starved dogs rescued from Shuswap property

SALMON ARM, B.C. — A group of eight young dogs on a Shuswap property who were infested with parasites and worms were recently rescued by the local SPCA. 

In a news release issued Tuesday (May 26), the BC SPCA says seven of the dogs were severely starved and all were desperate for food to the point where they would ingest fabric, feces, garbage and plastic. 

Due to how severe the dogs’ starvation was, the SPCA says they required a veterinary-approved refeeding plan to avoid organ failure. The non-profit says one dog required a $9,000 emergency surgery procedure to treat an intestinal blockage while three required two sets of treatments to clear parasites. Additionally, all the dogs were treated for giardia and worms. 

“Although giardia is a common parasitic infection, people underestimate the amount of work it takes to clear it up,” Meranda Dussault, manager of the BC SPCA Shuswap in the Thompson, Okanagan and Kootenay region says. “It’s not just medication; the dogs need to be bathed regularly to remove any giardia cysts from their fur, and the kennels need to be disinfected constantly throughout the process to ensure the dogs do not get re-infected. This is all in addition to the day-to-day demands of the animal centre.”