Kelowna Capital News - Sunday, March 27, 2005
By Kevin Parnell

Neil Strand knows what it's like to be adopted. The Westside resident is adopted himself. So when he adopted an adult dog from the SPCA, he knew he was doing the right thing.

What he didn't know was that he was adopting more than just one dog.

"She was already showing her nipples as if she had already had babies or was going to have babies but with the SPCA policy of spaying and neutering dogs I assumed she wasn't pregnant. I brought her to the vet and the vet didn't assume she was pregnant either."

But those assumptions turned out to be wrong. Five weeks after he adopted Shady, the black lab cross gave birth to eight puppies. Strand went back to the SPCA and was told nothing could be done until the puppies were eight weeks old and i he brought the puppies in right away they would have to be euthanized.

Now, with the puppies nine weeks old, Strand has given away five of the eight and doesn't want to take the puppies back to the SPCA, instead opting to look for good homes for the rest of the litter. And he hasn't thought of returning Shady either.

"I'm an adopted child an taking her back would be like my mom adopting me and then taking me back because of the colour of my hair." he said.

"There's no way I would have kept her though if I knew. I had her for five weeks before she had the puppies. That's a long time to get attached."

Compounding the problem Shady developed a sickness called mastitis after giving birth.

The cost of medicine needed to cure Shady together with the extra money spent on dog food, Strand figures he has spent close to $700 in just a few weeks.

"I had never been through raising a puppy." he said.

"This is the most stressful time of my life. They could reimburse me for every dollar and I still wouldn't be at ease with the situation."

Strand says he asked the SPCA if they would spay the puppy he hopes to keep for himself and donate it's first shots, but claims the organization turned him down.

No one from the SPCA returned phone calls from the Capital news on Friday.

In the end, Strand, who once volunteered at the SPCA, feels betrayed by the group.

"The worst thing is it's going to happen to someone else who might not be able to raise the puppies," he said.

"They have a contract they make you sign but nowhere in the contract does it mention there is a chance that the dog or cat could be pregnant. It should be in the contract that if you adopt a pet there is a good chance it's pregnant."