Litter of 11 puppies left outside Regina Humane Society in the cold

A litter of 11 puppies were abandoned at the Regina Humane Society’s donation entrance.

The Regina Humane Society is reminding people surrendering animals to do so during business hours, after a litter of puppies were left outside their building in the cold.

On Monday at 5 a.m., a tote with a litter of 11 puppies was left outside the building in -11 C weather before a worker noticed the box two hours later.

“Fortunately, the fact there were 11 was probably good,” said Bill Thorn, the director of marketing and public relations with the Regina Humane Society (RHS). “Had there been only one or two, they would have felt the effects of that cold much more quickly.”

The puppies are estimated to be around seven weeks old and are all doing well.

“We’re on a fairly busy street with Parliament Avenue. Had they made their way there or around the corner and our parking lot we could be having a very different conversation today,” Thorn said. “So, the good news is they’re okay, but the bad news is it happened. Our message is that we understand sometimes you can’t hang on to an animal for a whole bunch of different reasons.”

Eleven puppies is also an exceedingly larger litter, as the Humane Society typically sees litters between four to eight. The breed has not been fully identified, but it is guessed to be a “shepherd mix” with six male and five female.

Thorn and his staff are understanding of an owner’s personal life but said that owners should always prepare for an animal donation in a longer-term manner.

“We know it’s difficult,” he said. “Sometimes people don’t want to come talk to us, but please do. If you’re not able to rehome them on your own, give us a call. We’ll work out something that we can do, hopefully to see the best outcome for all concerned.”

Taking care of dogs, cats and the odd rabbit, the facility can typically hold up to 160 animals at a time. Puppies can share rooms, but adult dogs typically have their own room.

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“We do our intake of strangers by appointment, so we ask that you call us ahead of time, so that it’s not a surprise,” Thorn said. “We could be just jammed with animals, and it’s called manage intake and capacity for care. We want to manage the number of animals that are coming in, so it matches our capacity to care for them with the staff that we have financial resources, along with the space in the building.”

The facility holds about 3,700 animals year-round. Their most common time for animal handoffs is during the spring or summer, especially when cats mate the most.

“Not too many people let their cats roam when it’s 30 below outside,” Thorn said. “We’ve seen that happen, but typically when the warm weather comes out.”

The RHS has been in their new location for the past two years after moving from the north end. Thorn has been with the RHS for 11 years and has seen the disparity of animals over some important timeframes.

“A lot of people acquired dogs during COVID-19, then when that started to wind down a bit, going back to work and travelling again, some people don’t have the time for the dogs,” he said. “This isn’t just here; this is right across North America. There’s a shortage of veterinarians worldwide, access to vet care has become more of a challenge, and there’s economic conditions.”

“People’s lives were changing a lot, and it resulted in a lot of dogs being surrendered to animal shelters right across North America.”

Recently, the RHS has seen more cats being dropped off.