Officer reunites puppies with their mother

In a situation taken straight from 101 Dalmatians, OPS Cst. Andrea Cohen worked doggedly this past weekend to ensure the safe return of six-week-old puppies to their mother.

On July 11 at about 2 pm, she was dispatched to assist another agency with a dispute of ownership of the puppies and enforce an order for them to be returned to the owner of the mother dog. When Cst. Cohen arrived, the woman at the residence claimed the puppies weren’t there, even though she could be charged with causing undue stress to an animal and face a fine up to $75,000. 

Cst. Cohen, who is a long-time volunteer with Sit With Me Dog Rescue and Bullies in Need, knew the pups were too young to be away from their mother. “We could charge the woman, but not getting the puppies back put them all at risk. My goal was to recover each and every one of them.” 

The officer spoke to the woman in possession of the puppies, who requested thirty minutes to get them. She turned over three of the animals and they were returned to their mother. The woman gave Cst. Cohen contact information where to find the other three puppies and the officer picked them up. 

When she dropped them off to the owner of the mother dog, Cst. Cohen did some more digging. “There were photos showing nine puppies.” 

Cst. Cohen told the woman to produce the other three puppies or face charges of causing undue stress to an animal. They were returned the next day.

If not for Cst. Cohen’s diligence, some of the puppies would not have been recovered.

Concerns about animal safety should be reported to the Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS)  at 1-833-926-4625.