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TUKTOYAKTUK - Three dogs that were found dead while still tied out in their yard probably succumbed to sickness rather than exposure.

Const. Ian Diplock with the Tuktoyaktuk RCMP detachment said there are no animal cruelty charges pending now.

"At the moment my office isn't using the word cruelty."

Diplock said the animals were not pets but more likely sled dogs. He said the dogs do have a harder life than pets, but they were not being neglected.

"After speaking with the family members it appears that the dogs had become ill and it appears that three of them succumbed to that illness and the other three appear to be on the mend," said Diplock.

The constable responded to a request to round up some loose dogs in the Reindeer Point area of town on Dec. 22.

Bylaw officer Chuck Gruben took down two of them and the other four took off, he said.

Diplock and Gruben followed two stray dogs back to a yard, where they discovered the dead dogs.

In a story by another media outlet, Gruben was quoted as saying the dogs were starving and that it looked to him like a case of cruelty. Gruben could not be reached for comment.

The animals belong to Randal "Boogie" Pokiak, who is currently in jail. Pokiak's family members were looking after the dogs.