When a Stevensville man saw what appeared to be a couple of cages thrown into a ditch along Fox Road in Fort Erie on Thursday, he first assumed that it was another instance of the frequent garbage dumping that sometimes happens in the area.
Then he found four pet rats, severely dehydrated and appearing to suffer from heat exhaustion.
Now he wants to know who left the animals to die in the 100-degree heat.
“I had gloves with me, so I caught the rats, put them together in a cage, and called the SPCA right away,” said the man who wished to have his name withheld.
“I don’t want any attention, I just saw something disgusting and did something about it. Hopefully, someone will recognize them or get a hit on them.”
While waiting for the SPCA provincial offenses officer, the Stevensville residents' wife returned with a water bottle to help the rats hydrate.
“We are horrified that people would do something like this. I can’t imagine what they must have experienced in the wild, being released as domestics. It is pretty frightening,” said Fort Erie Executive Director Wendy Trombley.
She said the rats were taken to their shelter where, after some more water and rest, they appear to have recovered.
But the organization believes there could be more of them hiding out in the field based on the amount of feces left behind in the cages and are continuing their search for them.
Trombley said similar cases of ‘pet dumping’ happen once or twice per year, and can be the result of a number of different circumstances in a pet owner's personal life.
“It could be a lack of funds. Maybe the person lost their job or had a separation in the family and can’t do it anymore. A lot of times it is financial,” she said.
“We do not refuse any animals coming to us. They could have just called us. In this day and age this shouldn’t be happening.”
The incident is still under investigation and could result in criminal charges being laid.
Fort Erie SPCA is asking anyone with information about the animals to come forward.
