Found alone on a park path in Cranbrook, a stray French bulldog puppy owes his life to a good Samaritan and kind foster home.

Estimated to be only days old and with no mother, littermates, or owner nearby, the puppy’s odds of survival were grim without intervention.

After knocking on doors for an hour in attempt to find the puppy’s home, the good Samaritan encountered a BC SPCA volunteer, who joined in the search efforts alongside another individual.

Despite three people searching the park and visiting nearby residences for two hours, the puppy’s home was not found. The volunteer eventually contacted the BC SPCA East Kootenay, which made arrangements to find a foster home.

A stray notice was posted on the BC SPCA East Kootenay’s Facebook page, but no one came forward to claim him or contacted the BC SPCA asking about a lost puppy. The BC SPCA also connected with bylaw, who had not received any lost puppy notices either and could not take the puppy into their care due to his age.

Now affectionately dubbed Tyke, the tiny puppy is pudgy and healthy, but that wouldn’t have been possible without the loving foster home he was placed into.

“It would be impossible to care for all the animals we receive without foster homes,” said Angela Mather, BC SPCA East Kootenay animal care centre manager.

“With Tyke for example, he needed to be bottle feed every two to three hours. Our animal care centre isn’t a 24/7 facility, so without his fosters, we wouldn’t have been able to care for Tyke at the centre. Fosters truly save lives.”

Tyke is just one example of the many animals who are fortunate enough to have a BC SPCA foster home, but Mather says the shelter is in desperate need of more fosters.

“It doesn’t need to be a big commitment. Even short-term or emergency placements make a huge difference. We can work around vacation schedules and animal preferences.

“For example, somebody took Tyke for one night while we sorted out details for a permanent placement. Short-term homes are just as helpful as long-term.”

While more fosters for all animals would be greatly appreciated, the BC SPCA East Kootenay location especially needs foster homes for the following: Dogs; Bottle-fed kittens;  Pregnant or new moms (dogs or cats); Small animals (rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, etc.); Animals with medical needs (e.g., dogs recovering from spay surgeries).

Anyone interested in fostering can take a quiz to see if fostering is right for them, or apply online. Foster training can be completed online on your own time, and typically takes 30-120 minutes depending on the category of animals.

Note: Tyke is not currently available for adoption. All animals will be posted online when they are ready for adoption. We kindly ask you do not call the BC SPCA East Kootenay centre inquiring about his availability and instead register for alerts if you wish to stay informed.

Photos courtesy BC SPCA

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