REGINA -- Volunteers with Bright Eyes Dog Rescue braved the cold throughout the week and traveled all over the province to bring in 28 dogs in just three days.

On Monday, the group travelled to Prince Albert to take in a puppy believed to have the highly contagious parvovirus, which causes an infectious gastrointestinal illness in puppies and young dogs.

“On Monday we drove down to PA and picked her up. Then by the time we got home Monday night, I had a message from one of our partner communities just outside of Regina,” said Chantal Cattell, the rescue’s director of intake and medical.

Cattell said on Tuesday, the organization traveled to the partner community to pick up five dogs. By the time they left the area, the rescue had received five more dogs to take in.

On Wednesday, the group was driving to Shellbrook to meet frontline rescuers from a northern community who had nine dogs for the organization. By the end of the day, the group had an additional eight dogs, after a mother and her seven puppies were found.

“I was getting up ready to go, and checked my phone and I had a text message from one of the frontline rescuers. I was just like, ‘Stick it in the vehicle and we’ll figure it out,’” Cattell said.

Bright Eyes wants to remind people that they are willing to go anywhere in the province to pick an animal up, so anyone looking to surrender a dog has options.

Cattell said it is not uncommon to receive extra dogs in the middle of rescue. A lot of people try to take animals in, but often do not have the resources to properly care for them.

“There is no pound, there is no vet clinic, so lots of people in those communities try to help wherever they can. The problem is, when they’re not spayed and neutered and you keep bringing in more dogs to try and save them, they keep populating,” said Cattell.

The dogs will be held for at least two weeks and will go through medical checks before being approved for adoption. The rescue’s director of adoptions said people are eager to pick out a new pet. 

“Depending on the litter and what breed they are we could get anywhere from 50 to 150 applications per litter,” said Allyson Chartier.