Dozens of dogs were rescued from a barn in rural Manitoba Tuesday evening.
RCMP and provincial animal services removed 79 dogs from a barn in the West St. Paul area.
The dogs rescued are American Bulldogs and Lhasa Apsos.
Officials said they were housed in filthy and deplorable conditions.
"Many of them were covered in fecal material and urine stains and so on. Many of them were thin as well, so it looks like food was an issue," said Bill McDonald, executive director of the Winnipeg Humane Society.
They are now at the Winnipeg Humane Society where they are being examined by the provincial vet.
About 30 animal care workers worked through the night to evaluate the dogs' conditions and put them into waiting kennels.
Officials are trying to sort out why the owner of the dogs was keeping them in such poor conditions.
The dogs' owner wasn't available to answer CTV's questions, but a friend said she had sold many dogs over the years and they were all in good condition.
"If it's a breeding operation, it was a substandard operation. It certainly didn't meet anything normal," said McDonald.
About 90 per cent of the animals brought in on Tuesday are expected to eventually be well enough to be adopted. But about 10 per cent may be too sick.
The exact timeline is unclear, depending on how quickly the dogs heal and depending on the direction the Humane Society gets from the provincial veterinarian's office.
- with a report from CTV's Jon Hendricks
