Born in the dog pound

The population of the valley’s dog pound grew in size—and cuteness—with the unexpected birth of eight healthy pups. Now, those pups are preparing for adoption.

In late spring, the puppies’ mother, who has since been named Marvel, was spotted wandering in the rain with two other dogs. (Staff have speculated they may have all been related.)

The trio were three of 83 dogs impounded between April and June by the Fraser Valley Regional District, which handles animal control services for most of the region’s municipalities. They were taken to the FVRD pound on Wolfe Road in Chilliwack.

The pound

A 21st Century pound is less like doggy jail, and more like a doggy daycare-slash-rehab centre. (Hence its name: Community Animal Response and Education Centre—a.k.a. the CARE Centre.) Licensed animals are returned to their owners—a free ride is offered for the first time a lost animal is found. Owners can also come to the facility to reclaim their lost dog. Meanwhile, those with no obvious homes are provided any necessary medical care and, if they need it, training to be a proper good boy or girl. Then, they are made available for adoption. Some are housed in foster homes. The centre does not euthanize healthy pooches who can’t be adopted; instead the focus is on improving the dog’s behaviour and suitability to increase its appeal for a family.

Although Marvel’s compadres were quickly adopted, Marvel has stuck around. In part because the already-husky dog kept getting huskier. (Though she’s not actually a Husky; staff speculated she could be a Pyrenees or Maremma mix.) It turned out Marvel was pregnant, and this spring she gave birth to eight pups: six boys, and two girls.

Like Marvel, they all got comic-bookish names: Carter, Lee, Banner, Barton, Barnes, Stark, Parker, and Rogers. (The CARE Centre seems to have a thing for comic book names; when this reporter last wrote about the facility seven years ago, the star of the story was a dog called Clark Kent.)

Those puppies will soon be placed for adoption, though they’re not the only dogs seeking new homes. The CARE Centre has a range of dogs looking for new families. They post regular updates and pictures on its Facebook page.

Profiles can also be found online.

Those wanting to adopt a dog are asked to fill in an application form before contacting the centre. After an application is approved, meetings are arranged. A $300 adoption fee covers medical care, spaying or neutering, a microchip, and vaccination, among other costs.

These are the dogs currently listed by the Fraser Valley Regional District on Petfinder.