WARNING: This story contains imagery some people may find disturbing

March 21 wasn't an average day for Alex Husack.

Husack, a track supervisor for CN Rail, was surveying lines near Runnymede, Sask., roughly 16 kilometres south and east of Kamsack, when he found 12 dog carcasses that appeared to have been thrown off the side of a bridge.

"We were looking for signs of high water or water running down hills, and from a quarter mile away, we could just see a patch of something," Husack said. "As we got closer, we seen that it looked like fur."

Husack said the dogs didn't appear to have been beaten, have any gunshot wounds or show any signs of having participated in dog fights.

Some of the dogs appeared to be a bit skinnier, while others appeared to be healthy. He said there were a mix of breeds.

RCMP said they were aware of the dog carcasses and were looking into the matter. They said they were aware a cull had taken place on the Cote First Nation. (Submitted by Alex Husack)

Husack said he contacted RCMP in Kamsack, who told him that was the third time the carcasses had been reported to them.

"They basically said there's nothing they could do, because dogs are personal property, so if you decide to put your dog down, as long as it's humane, you're allowed to do it," he said.

He said he was told RCMP thought the carcasses may have been discarded last fall and were then covered by snow.

Husack was doubtful the animals had been there that long.

"There's no way, we would have noticed them, because that hillside's been melted for probably a month now," Husack said. "We just noticed them last week. There's no way they were dumped off last fall."

He said he figured the dogs must have been dumped off in the last two weeks.

Animal Protection Services aware of carcasses

A spokesperson for Animal Protection Services said their organization was aware of the carcasses but their organization was not involved in the investigation.

Don Ferguson, executive director of Animal Protection Services Sask. said RCMP officers assume the role of Animal Protection Officers in some cases, but that things are a bit murky in terms of whether or not any violations were committed in the way the animals were disposed of.

He said the Animal Protection Act has information that deals with the disposal of large numbers of livestock, but there is no specific information in the legislation that deals with canines.

On-site burial, incineration or composting are the prescribed methods of disposal when large numbers of dogs are destroyed.

Ferguson said he was unsure of what may happen in terms of legal action, but noted that if the person responsible for dumping the carcasses is charged under the Animal Protection Act, they could receive a fine of up to $25,000 and up to two years of jail time.

An RCMP spokesperson said they were aware of the incident and looking into the matter and mentioned they had been informed of a dog cull at the nearby Cote First Nation. Staff at the band office of the Cote First Nation confirmed a dog cull had recently taken place due to concerns about safety in the community.