N.S. SPCA seeking donations to help five dogs found with rocks in their bellies

These dogs need your help The N.S. SPCA shares an update on a recent case of animal neglect and tells us how we can help the dogs in their care.

The Nova Scotia SPCA is asking for support from the community to help five dogs who are in desperate need of care.

The SPCA says the dogs were recently rushed to urgent care after they were found starving and dehydrated.

According to a post on the shelter's Twitter page, the dogs had rocks in their bellies and zero energy, which increases the likelihood of an animal's organs shutting down.

"It's always surprising when we get these types of dogs into our care, but when you get five, it's a bit of a different story. We're not used to getting that many at once," said Sandra Flemming, the director of animal care for the Nova Scotia SPCA, during an interview on CTV Morning Live.

According to Flemming, the dogs' ages range from one to five years old.

Due to an ongoing investigation, she says she can't release many details about what happened to the dogs before they entered the shelter, but says, so far, they're doing well with their recovery.

"It's a very slow process to bring dogs back when they’re so severely emaciated," she said. "On the weekend, I was checking in and a couple of them weren't doing as great as we had wanted them to be. It's a process."

"You have to start so slow with them to make sure you're not overwhelming their system. You have to monitor closely, you don't want them to get dehydrated, so it's a bit of a tricky first steps in the first couple of weeks, but then usually after that, that regular care and nutrients they get from the food start bringing them around, but it will be a while."

Flemming says, although the dogs are in rough shape, they’re very friendly and adapting well.

"They've been great since they've come in. They have wonderful temperaments, they're very kind dogs, they're very sweet," she said. "They've gone through a lot in a very short period of time and they're still being great with staff and that's the best we can hope for right now."

Eventually, once the dogs are strong enough, Flemming says they will likely be put into the shelter's "Foster to Adopt" program, where staff will continue to monitor the dogs' well-beings.

"Keep them under our care so we can continue to monitor them with our wonderful veterinarian team who just always knows how to jump in and get things going... and then let them go to their forever homes after that," said Flemming.

The SPCA says the dog group, which they refer to as "Greenie and his friends," have all been named after bright colours to symbolize their bright futures. Flemming says there are three girls and two boys.

Anyone interested in donating to "Greenie and his friends" can visit the SPCA's website.

Not only does the SPCA care for animals in need, but Flemming says it is also willing to help community members whenever they can.

"The rising cost of things has made it very difficult for people to afford pets. We're seeing a lot more surrenders than we ever have with people who are just not able to care for their pets anymore," she said.

"But we also want people to know that we have a pet pantry – if you can't afford to care for your animals, you can certainly call us, we'll give you food, litter, things that you need to get you over those humps in terms of your financial ability to afford things. We have lots of programming for the public when they fall on hard times and we just really want people to know that they just have to call us."

More information on SPCA programming or ways you can donate towards the not-for-profit organization can be found online.