Saving Grace Animal Society found three puppies outdoors in central Alberta, as temperatures dipped below -20 C Friday.
“We were just driving by and we noticed these two puppies sitting in the snow bank and we discovered one more,” said Erin Deems, Saving Grace executive director.
The puppies were stuffed into their jackets and rushed to a veterinary clinic.
“They were all very much hypothermic. Their temperatures were too low, we couldn’t even get readings when we first arrived at the vet clinic. We immediately started giving them critical care to start bringing their temperatures back up,” Deems said.
Two of the puppies are now semi-stable and one is in critical condition.
“They’re definitely going to spend a little bit of time in hospital, certainly the one that is still in critical condition.
“With these temperatures, and the temperatures their bodies were registering at, they can certainly develop organ damage. It’s important to monitor them and make sure they are healthy and have everything they need over the next while,” she said, adding it’s uncertain where the puppies originally came from.
Temperatures in the province have changed quite drastically recently, Deems said.
“They changed at a really busy time in everybody’s life. I hope everyone can take a moment to make sure that everybody has what they need, then maybe these kinds of things would happen less and less.”
Saving Grace has more animals than it has ever had available this week and more animals in care than ever before, the animal rescue organization said in a Facebook post Thursday.
There will be open houses at the facility in Alix Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 1-8 p.m.
“Because it’s the season of ‘giving’ we want to remind everyone that pets are not gifts. We require all family members to be present for adoption and on board so there are no surprises,” the Facebook post said.
“We can only accommodate so many adoptions at any given point in our facility so you may be asked to leave your number and wait in the warmth of your car until we call you in for your turn.”
For more information on the animal rescue organization, visit www.savinggracecanada.com.
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