Yellowknife (Sep 10/03) - The fate of 62 dogs penned up outside the Great Slave Animal Hospital since last Thursday will rest on the community's willingness to adopt them, says general manager Laureen Schidlowsky.

She doesn't hold high hopes for many of them, however. None of them have been spayed or neutered, and all are accustomed to a life of roaming wild in the bush off Highway 3. In all likelihood, most of them will be euthanized, she said.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking," said Schidlowsky, as she stood outside the hospital staring at six dogs in carriers they had brought in earlier that day from a 65-acre property 10 kilometres outside of Yellowknife.

"Something like this shouldn't be allowed to happen," she added, noting that she is familiar with the dogs and their situation. "What concerns me the most are the puppies dying. I just want the breeding to stop."

The grave dilemma began to unfold Thursday afternoon when the dogs' owners, Harry and Pat Shermet, attempted to transport 64 dogs from their home by highway to Manitoba, where they say they have a 300-acre plot of land.

Harry Shermet, driving a truck with a tarped covered double-trailer, was pulled over by RCMP from the Rae detachment. Yellowknife RCMP were aware the Shermets were planning to ship the dogs southward, and after discovering most of them had been taken from the property on Thursday, made a request to Rae detachment to keep an eye out for them.

"When we were made aware of the fashion in which the dogs would be transported, it doesn't meet a lot of requirements for transporting animals that distance, we're talking Manitoba," said Sgt. Steve McVarnock, with the Yellowknife RCMP detachment.

"Sixty-four dogs into a small, makeshift trailer, it's not fair to the animals and it's hard to properly care for them."

Otherwise, the dogs appeared healthy, he said.

The animals were impounded under the NWT Dog Act, which covers cruelty and mistreatment and forbids dogs from running wild.

McVarnock said police have been keeping tabs on the Shermets and their dogs for the last three months after receiving complaints from neighbours that the dogs were running loose in packs near the highway.

"It was the concern that they would attack game or perhaps anybody that might've been walking that stretch of highway," said McVarnock.

The Shermet household rests on Crown land under the jurisdiction of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The land was leased to an undisclosed party, who in turned subletted it out to the Shermets.

The lessee recently had the Shermets evicted, according to Brenda Becker with DIAND's land administration office.

In total, 64 dogs were found in Shermet's truck-trailer, and another six were rounded up by veterinary staff at the Shermet's request. There are still several dogs running loose on the property.

According to NWT SPCA president Janet Pacey, eight dogs have been adopted out so far. She hopes the public will come out and adopt more, and if not, bring in donations of money, toys and food. The SPCA are currently feeding the animals at their expense.

"We are paying for whatever those dogs need now," said Pacey. "Old Roy dog food from Wal-Mart is what they've been eating."

She said she has never seen this many dogs taken in at once. The animal hospital is currently deluged with over 90 dogs, including other strays and dogs kept in kennel.

Shermets want to be left alone

Pat and Harry Shermet say all they were trying to do was give the dogs -- most of them picked up as strays -- a happy home with room to roam. As far as they see it, the number of dogs they chose to keep is their own business.

"If we can provide for them out of our own expenses why should anybody care," said Pat Shermet.

"They made us bring them here, not by our choice. We want to take them back home."

She said, even though the dogs run free, they are well-kept. They spend about $200 to $300 a month on food for the dogs, she said.

The couple were also upset with the police officers who stopped Harry near Rae. They said two dogs escaped when he pulled over, and were immediately shot, an allegation McVarnock couldn't confirm or deny.

"They're liars," said Harry. "They wanted to shoot them all."

He vowed he would remain parked outside the veterinary clinic until their dogs were released back to them. On Thursday, McVarnock said RCMP would post a guard overnight.

Time, however, is likely running out for the dogs. Without a proper kennel and home to care for them, it's unlikely the police will give them back. Under the Dog Act, if the animals are not claimed within five days, the police may destroy them.

On Monday, however, Yellowknife RCMP detachment commander, Insp. Paul Richards, said nothing will happen to the dogs until a hearing before a justice of the peace is held to determine whether the Shermets can care for the remaining dogs that haven't been adopted.

A date for a hearing hasn't been set, although the Shermets have retained a lawyer.

"We don't have an idea of when that's going to be (a hearing)," said Richards. "A lot of it depends on the court scheduling."