Security cam footage shows puppies being abandoned in Sudbury

Man 'sickened' to find five abandoned puppies Security cam footage shows five puppies being abandoned in Copper Cliff in Sudbury last week.

Security cam footage shows five puppies being abandoned in Copper Cliff in Sudbury last week.

Adam Delamorandiere said he arrived home Friday between 8:30 and 9 p.m. when he saw two people with puppies.

"They asked me if I wanted a puppy, and I said, "No, we've already got two'," Delamorandiere said.

"And, they said, 'Well, they're not ours.'"

Security cameras showed someone pulling a blanket from the back of a vehicle, allowing the pups to fall to the ground. They were outside for roughly 30 minutes before they were discovered.

"It's sickening, to be honest," Delamorandiere said.

"It just it blows my mind that even in the winter … somebody could be that heartless."

Jill Pessot, director of Pet Save in Sudbury, said this sort of thing has been happening more often in the city.

"That one hit social media, but it's happening almost every day in Sudbury," Pessot said.

"It's because we have so many animals that were born over this last three- or four-year period. There simply aren't enough homes. Surrender calls are through the roof. You know, the shelters are full."

She said they currently have about 520 animals in care, compared to 230 a few years ago.

"Thousands are being euthanized," Pessot said.

"Thousands are dying out there because there's simply not even shelters for them to go to."

To put the crisis in perspective, she said if people stopped breeding and their animals stopped having puppies and kittens, it would take 15 years for the situation to become manageable again.

Pessot has received $50,000 in memory of long-time member Sue McCulloch to help people with spay and neutering costs. She said certain people can get their dog or cat fixed at half the normal cost.

"We encourage everybody to go to the East Village Animal Hospital website … and register," she said.

"If they are in one of the complexes in our community that (are) geared to income, I will subsidize that cost by 50 per cent. So, you know, you can get a cat spayed for $85."

For his part, Delamorandiere was able to find homes for four of the five puppies so far on his own.

Pessot encourages anyone who finds animals in similar distress to contact 311.