The Weyburn Humane Society received an unexpectedly large amount of animals this week. The 22 animals, including both cats and dogs, was in addition to their already 70 animals currently residing at the shelter.

"Wednesday night, we had told another rescue group that we were able to take a mom and three puppies," explained Shelter Manager Colleen Morrice. "Unfortunately, when we got to the meeting spot, there were extra animals that had no place to go, so we took them knowing what their fate would be, so we made room in our shelter for them."

She said they brought in nine orphaned puppies, three orphaned kittens, a mother dog with her puppies, and a mother cat with her kittens.

Newly acquired puppies at the animal shelter (photo courtesy of Colleen Morrice).

Morrice shared with Discover Weyburn how the community stepped up after they posted about the influx online.

"The result of calling out on Facebook alone was amazing, people really pulled through yesterday and brought us what we needed, kitten and puppy food, so we are well-stocked as of today," she said.

She noted that, with more than 90 animals now in their care, the no-kill shelter was, nonetheless, able to accommodate the substantial influx of vulnerable animals.

"Currently, we were lucky that we did have open space," said Morrice. "We usually keep two kennels open just in case of an emergency like this. As well, I had some friends step up to be fosters of some of the younger puppies."

She said the puppies and kittens will need to be with their mothers for another few weeks before they can be adopted. Additionally, the newly acquired animals will spend their first 10 days in the shelter in quarantine.