BC SPCA puts out call for help as 21 retrievers need adoption

Photo: BC SPCA

Who doesn't love an adorable retriever pup?

An influx of the furballs has the BC SPCA asking for help.

Eileen Drever with the SPCA says: "We are hardly into the new year, and already it has been an extraordinary year for large intakes."

Twenty-one retrievers, mostly puppies, will soon be available for adoption in the North Okanagan, Shuswap and Kamloops areas.

The SPCA is seeking donations to have the dogs tested, fixed and moved to shelters for adoption.

"From there, we hope to get them adopted once they are medically cleared. It's no small task moving and housing this numbers of dogs," Drever says in an email.

Besides other animals, there are currently four retrievers in Vernon, two in Kamloops, and four in the Shuswap.

The SPCA is working on transferring dogs from the Quesnel area as well.

"Since the beginning of the year, we have been encountering people that set up shop as breeders to fill the massive demand for puppies during the pandemic," says Drever.

"Some we found through cruelty investigations, others are coming to us, recognizing they can no longer care for the animals who are not getting scooped up as quickly as they were a year or two ago."

More litters are also expected.

The SPCA says there are no regulations or legislative bodies for breeders specific to B.C., "so we have no idea how many more breeders are out there and in over their heads. If January and February are any sign of what this year holds, we are going to be asking you to hold our hand through a very long couple of years," the society says in a pitch for donations.

You can apply online to adopt a pup.

Click here for Vernon.

Click here for Shuswap.

Click here for Kamloops.