MUSKOKA- Natasha Guerriero says she and her boyfriend recently went to a dog sledding business located in Moonstone Ontario, 20 minutes north of Barrie. They were expecting an enjoyable day out on the snow but say it turned out to be anything but. “We get passed all the trees there are hundreds of dogs, chained up with little room to sleep/eat/ and waste” says Guerriero in a Facebook post.
Guerriero says that the dogs live all day and all night with broken wooden houses and straw to keep them warm and when they were speaking to the staff that worked at the business she says they thought nothing about how the animals were living.
One of the staff members told them not to get too close to the dogs because they don’t get washed very often according to Guerriero.
According to a statement found on the businesses website it states:
Caring for the Dogs:
Here at Toronto Adventures we take pride in ensuring that no animals are ever mistreated for the purposes of any of our events or the events of companies we subcontract. We ensure that all of the Dog Sledding companies that we team up with for our various programs are Certified & Regularly Inspected by the appropriate Ontario Government By-Law Enforcement Offices to ensure they abide by the guidelines set for the proper care and treatment of these animals.
Dog Sledding businesses mostly breed their own dogs, and keep their dogs until they die of old age.  Therefore you will see puppies, young active strong dogs and retired dogs living out their retirement years.
Sled dogs love to run and pull sleds. When a sled dog gets tired or does not want to pull the sleds they simply lie down and stop pulling and are returned to their dog house and replaced by a fresh dog ready to run.
If you at anytime see or feel that any animal has been mistreated during one of our events please let our TA Staff Rep know right away so we can quickly solve the situation.
Melissa Kosowan with the OSPCA tells Muskoka411, “Concerns relating to a dog sled operation in Central Ontario have been reported to the Ontario SPCA and we are following up accordingly.” Kosowan said. “The Society takes all reported concerns of animal cruelty seriously. As this is an open investigation, we can’t share details at this time to maintain the integrity of the investigation. We want to reassure the public that the dogs are our top priority.”
If anyone has any new, first-hand information that could assist with this investigation, we urge them to report it immediately to 310-SPCA (7722). We would like to remind the public that our 310-SPCA (7722) animal cruelty hotline is intended for reporting first-hand information relating to animal cruelty concerns.
Here’s the video posted by Guerriero:
https://www.facebook.com/NatashaGuerriero/videos/10156047576843609/
