Malnourished, frostbitten pups rescued by Barrie organization in dire need of donations

Barrie animal rescue desperate for donations A Barrie animal rescue is in need of community donations to help give 100 pups a new lease on life.

A non-profit animal rescue organization in Barrie that relies on community generosity recently saved a distressed young lab and her 12 puppies from northern Manitoba.

Lost Boys Hope founder Kelley Ward said the one-and-a-half-year-old lab and her pups were extremely malnourished and suffering from frostbite when they were rescued.

"The puppies today wouldn't have survived if left up there," Ward said.

Ward says the organization currently has over 100 animals and is in dire need of financial donations, as well as foster and forever homes.

She says this is the most animals they've cared for at one time and points to puppy mills as a significant factor.

Most of their rescues come from Northern Ontario and Northern Manitoba, where veterinary care and resources are limited, creating an extreme overpopulation of stray animals.

Ward urges anyone hoping to bring a dog home to adopt - not shop.

"The dogs that you're buying have a footing, and they have people who are taking care of them. These ones don't," she added.

Lost Boys Hope is one of the largest foster-based rescue organizations in the province and relies solely on donations to survive.

According to Ward, vet bills to care for the animals, including spaying/neutering, vaccinating, and ensuring parasite control, make it challenging to make ends meet each month.

Still, they aim to rescue stray dogs from Northern Manitoba and bring them to Barrie to be matched with their forever homes.

Ward says the lab and her pups would be available for adoption soon.