UPDATE as of June 2, 2023 As of today, twelve puppies in total have been rescued!! All dogs were transported to the Eastern Ontario Potcake Rescue except for one that remained in North Bay with the woman who fostered many of these dogs. He is now thriving and head of his Puppy School Class! The mother of all of these puppies was surrendered and brought to Ottawa. It is thought that she is pregnant with yet another litter. This will be confirmed next week. She requires much rehabilitation, and for obvious reasons is afraid of males. She is doing well under the care of the EOPR. The older dogs continue to be treated for a variety of issues, and their rehabilitation may be prolonged. One of these dogs must undergo testing for possible kidney issues. They had a very difficult life. More recently, the last of the puppies were brought to Ottawa. One is twelve weeks and the other is one year. It is thought that the owner had intended to breed them because of their unique colouring. There was a great relief in removing them from unbearable living conditions and a future of excessive breading. We have added some new photos! There is still a great need for funds due to number of dogs rescued. None of these rescues had ever been to a vet, so all required shots, deworming and some further investigation. Please check the website for puppies available for adoption wwwsaveapotcake.com Not all are listed, as some are not yet ready. We so appreciate your support! The SkyMed team and Vanessa Piazza, Executive Producer, have recently rescued four dogs and five puppies from a neglected home in North Bay. Vanessa has contacted Eastern Ontario Potcake Rescue to help care for most dogs, nurse them back to health and prepare them to find their “fur-ever” home. We have created this page to help us fundraise for their care. As they were seriously neglected, they will require ongoing care from the vet and the EOPR team, and we need funds to support this initiative. The cost per dog for rehabilitation and Veterinary care is estimated to be between $2,000 - $3,000 per dog. Here is their story… In October 2022, the Executive Producer of SkyMed Season 2, Vanessa Piazza, travelled to North Bay to scout locations before filming. While walking to her accommodation, she became aware that several dogs were distressed in an apartment steps away. Despite efforts to engage authorities, more was needed after several calls. Vanessa learned later that this situation had been ongoing for over a year. After months of engaging with the owner of the dogs, he finally surrendered four Mastiff/Boxer Cross puppies on April 5, 2023. They were identified as one-year-old puppies. Members of the SkyMed Crew quickly assembled to help transport and care for them while a temporary Foster could be secured. The Eastern Ontario Potcake Rescue had agreed to take them in, but arrangements had to be made to bring them to Ottawa. Everything was happening so fast! Fortunately, a Foster was quickly found, and a Crew member volunteered to get the four dogs to the rescue in Ottawa the following day. What began to unravel is a disturbing case; it has become a mission to right the many inadequacies of agencies who failed these puppies, the tenants and the Landlord of the building. But trying to get ALL dogs to safety remains the first priority! The condition of these four dogs was beyond comprehension. They were skeletal, starving, underweight for their age and reeked of feces and urine. When one would defecate, "all four would fight to eat the feces," said the Foster. It is reported that they had never been outside; instead, they were used to defecating and urinating in the apartment where they resided with at least ten other dogs! When these four puppies left North Bay, they also left behind the nightmare they lived through for their first 12 months. The horror of their condition so impacts the people whose lives they touched that fighting for change is non-negotiable. Julie Bertrand, President and Founder of EOPR, and her team began assessing and treating the dogs. Julie reports the dogs were "severely emaciated and infested with roundworms, tapeworms and whipworms." The dogs' growth was severely stunted. All dogs suffered urine scald burns to their legs and feet, explaining why they were limping and having difficulty walking. They were also severely dehydrated. Julie reports that had the dogs not been rescued, she estimates they would have died within weeks. A projected four to six months of body and mind rehabilitation is ahead of this group of puppies. They have no muscle, no muscle tone and no socialization skills. We are grateful that they have begun to get the care they need, but it will take significant time and work. During the Easter Weekend, Vanessa continued negotiating with the owner to release five young puppies. Two were released to one of the Directors of SkyMed and were fostered by her through the weekend. Another crew member picked up the three remaining puppies on the 12th of April and fostered them in her home until departure for Ottawa on the 15th. While they were in better condition than the first four, it can only be assumed they were headed for a similar fate had they not been removed from their environment at a young age. They all had very swollen bellies and smelled strongly of urine and feces. They were fed and given fresh water upon arrival and immediately bathed. They were delightful and, with each passing hour, became more and more alive. Perhaps recognizing a difference in their environment, their unique personalities erupted. They were loved, clean and on their way to the life they deserved. On April 15th, the same crew member who endured an arduous trip with the first four once again volunteered to help get these puppies to safety. That was a much easier trip than the previous week. One of the puppies stayed behind in North Bay, as the foster who cared for so many of these dogs had fallen hard! So Tucker (because he gets tuckered out so quickly) has found his forever Home, while his siblings are sure to find theirs in time. The effort to have the remaining dogs rescued continues. And this group will stop at nothing until Justice is served on behalf of these dogs who were betrayed by the agencies that are supposed to be there to help them. So please know it is a highly complex situation, but we have moved this quite far forward, and we want to focus on the puppies, getting well, and rescuing the remaining dogs. These nine rescued puppies are now known as the SkyMed Puppies! They sacrificed their right to "a basic standard of care" until the day they were freed. And here is where we need help. Once the four younger puppies are approximately 12 weeks, they will be available for adoption, assuming they are healthy and ready to move to their forever home. These puppies have not suffered the extensive abuse that the older puppies did, which can only be attributed to their being rescued so early. The cost of what the Potcake Rescue has before them is extraordinary. Housing, feeding and treating these eight puppies will be very costly. And the reality is that we are so hopeful that the other five will join them as early as this week or next. Those dogs are expected to be in significantly worse health. If you can help, thank you. If you know someone who can help, please share this page. There is a beautiful story here in a tragic situation on many levels. It all started with a producer going to North Bay to shoot the second season of a series, which led to the rescue of nine puppies and exposed a broken system; it is difficult to comprehend. Crew members rallied to meet every need for these puppies, and the SkyMed Puppies are now safe and getting the care they need. Eastern Ontario Potcake Rescue has a fantastic team of fosters who will take excellent care of these dogs and set them up for success. They also have a fantastic team overseeing adoptions who will ensure that each and every one of these dogs gets the best home. On behalf of all involved in their rescue, we want the SkyMed Puppies to know; that they are beacons for change. Your sacrifice of "basic needs" is a catalyst for much-needed action. We will work tirelessly on your behalf to change the systems that failed you. But we want to get you strong and healthy first, with the help of those reading your story. All funds raised will go directly to the Eastern Ontario Potcake Rescue. To find out more about the extraordinary work this Rescue does; and what a Potcake is, please visit their website: www.saveapotcake.com