… and the BC SPCA is investigating the mysterious appearance of stray huskies every four months.
A tiny puppy in a cardboard box and a kitten caught in a fence along the Oak Street Bridge are some of Richmond Animal Shelter’s newest residents.
More than half a dozen cats and dogs have recently moved into the shelter and staff are hoping to find out more about these furry newcomers.
According to a Facebook post by BC SPCA Richmond, an orange kitten was rescued from the Oak Street Bridge by good Samaritans after she was spotted running through traffic.
“When they found her she was tangled in chain link fencing along the bridge,” reads the post published Wednesday.
The kitten was taken to Richmond Animal Hospital and was found with a few cuts and scrapes but suffered “no serious injuries.”
Also found this week was a white puppy who was in a cardboard box at Steveston Highway and Gilbert Road, which had an unregistered microchip.
The puppy was “quite skinny and had a lot of yeast on his ears,” Emma Michel, Richmond Animal Shelter assistant manager told the Richmond News. He was brought to the vet and is now living in a foster home.
Mystery surrounding stray huskies
Another one of the shelter’s new tenants is a white husky found near Lismer Gate, near Gilbert Road just south of Blundell Road, on Tuesday morning.
According to Michel, the husky was the fourth of its kind found in the same area in Richmond during the past month. The huskies, all sharing similar characteristics with white fur and crystal blue eyes, are believed to know each other.
“A lot of them are very fearful, it’s hard to even get close to them,” said Michel. However, when one of the huskies, Winnie, met another husky named Poppy, she got excited and started wagging her tail.
All of the huskies were “quite skinny” when they were found and had to be put on a feeding plan, and a fifth husky was still on the loose and eluding the BC SPCA’s animal control team.
Michel told the News this is not the first time a group of stray huskies has been found in Richmond, and they’re often found along River, Dyke and Finn roads.
“Every four months we get a group of stray huskies that have a lot of the same behavior and sometimes even the same look,” she explained, adding that the phenomenon began last summer.
To get to the bottom of the matter, BC SPCA Richmond is working with the Delta Community Animal Shelter, which has received a few stray huskies as well.
More information needed to help animals
Also brought into the shelter this week is a cat wearing a harness that has no form of identification found on Bassett Road on Monday night, a kitten found on No. 3 Road last Friday, a microchipped cat was found near Peterson Drive on Monday morning, as well as a stray kitten found at the Bridgeport Canada Line station on Tuesday morning.
Any information, including medical records, about the rescued pets will allow the shelter to better help them, said Michel.
Anyone with information about any of the animals is asked to call the BC SPCA Richmond at 604-277-3100. The office is open daily between 10 am and 6 pm