Discarded puppies rescued by passersby

Woman bottle feeding litter of 6 accepting donations

About a month ago a Mr and Mrs Breau and their children were out for a drive and spotted two kittens on the road in a remote area near Heath Steele Mines. They stopped thinking if there were two kittens there might be others so they started looking in the ditch. There were no other kittens but they found 7 puppies that had been born recently and contacted the Miramichi Animal Control Officer, Tony LeBlanc.

Tony knew the pups were only a day or so old as their umbilical cords were still bloody and wet, and that if they were going to survive they would need constant attention and care. LeBlanc reached out to a friend, MacKenzie, who agreed to see what she could do.

The weakest pup died soon after it was rescued, leaving 6 pups, 5 males and one female. MacKenzie said she and her family take turns feeding the dogs very few hours and said it has been exhausting but rewarding. It has also been expensive.

Mackenzie said they go through a tub of puppy milk every 5 days and it costs $100 per tub. She said soon they will transitioning to solid food, and she will also plans to get the pups de-wormed and their first shots when they see a vet which will also be expensive.

She said anyone that wants to help with the costs can come to Pet Value (where she works) to make a contribution. She said she can also accept e-transfers at the following email address: mleaoctober@gmail.com

MacKenzie also has a little help from her 15 year old female dog who sleeps with the pups and lets them suckle on her even though she doesn’t produce any milk. It’s a real team effort at McKenzie’s house.

LeBlanc is very grateful to MacKenzie. “Those puppies would be dead without her. She came to bat for me because I just would not have the time,” he said. LeBlanc is still on the hunt for the person who would have heartlessly discarded the puppies. He said he hopes to hear from someone that knows of a dog that appears to have milk but no puppies.  He said homes were also found for the kittens that were rescued.

One of the puppies have been spoken for, but soon they will be looking for homes for the remainder of the dogs. MacKenzie says it is too early to determine what is the predominant breed of the dogs or how large they will grow. She is estimating (from experience) that the dogs will be an average size.