Neglect.  Puppy mills.  Abuse.  Dog fighting.  Abandonment. 

There are no statistics that indicate the number of animal abuse incidents in Canada or even Alberta but our experience tells us that there are acts of cruelty occurring daily. 

Stories of abuse and neglect can be hard to swallow and the images hard to look at, but please do not look away.  The innocent canine victims need help and your efforts can make the difference of a lifetime. 

Here are some hart hero's who are living healthy, happy lives because hart volunteers did not look away. 

We do not know if was boiling water or hot grease that caused the scald burn on along Jenny's back but whatever the substance, it must have been excruciatingly painful for her.  By the time Jenny came into hart's care, the skin had mostly healed leaving a roadmap of a scar.  The good news is that Jenny did not have any emotional scars to match her physical scar.  Once her puppies were adopted, she too found her furever home. 

April's blood filled eyes were a sure sign of blunt force trauma.  She can't tell us what the mechanism of her head injury was, but we have a few guesses.  As soon as she had recovered, she had her spay performed and the bump on her nose was investigated.  We thought it might be an embedded porcupine quill.  To our dismay a pellet was removed.  Despite these experiences, April is an affectionate and trusting girl.

The overpopulation problem is a global issue demonstrated by Bella.  Her condition upon rescue is familiar - dehydrated, malnourished and full of parasites - however instead of dealing with freezing temperatures and snow falling, she was dealing with high heat and scarcity of drinking water.  Bella was rescued from Cuba while a hart family was vacationing.  Bella gained weight, strength and energy as she got used to the snow.

There is much work to be done in putting a stop to animal cruelty, specifically cruelty to canines.  When you look at images of abuse, please also have a vision for a future with no suffering.