The New Brunswick SPCA has some leads in the deaths of three Great Danes and two cats found wrapped in tarps and garbage bags on the side of a dead-end road in Memramcook on Monday.

Chief animal protection officer Tony Porter is "very optimistic" about tracking down the owner, based on how the investigation is going.

There's no word yet on how or when the animals died, but foul play is suspected, he said.

"If people have to put their dogs down, have to get them euthanized, they bury them or have them turned over to one of the facilities that do look after that. They usually don't dump them on a side of a dead-end road."

Reported by couple walking dog

A couple called Sackville RCMP on Monday around 7:30 a.m. to report seeing a blue tarp along Renaissance Extension Road, said Cpl. René Blanchard.

The couple told police they noticed the tarp while walking their dog on Saturday and hadn't seen it there the previous Saturday, he said.

The responding officer discovered the dead dogs wrapped in tarps and the dead cats, in garbage bags, and called in the SPCA, which has since taken over the investigation, said Blanchard.

All of the animals showed signs of being in poor condition, including very overgrown toenails on the dogs and bad eye infections in one of the cats, said Porter.

None of the animals had collars, tags or microchips.

Awaiting necropsy reports

It could take several days before the causes of death are determined, said Porter. The carcasses were still partially frozen when they arrived at the provincial lab for post-mortem examinations, he said.

One of the dogs, a fawn-coloured female, had a very large noticeable tumour on her left side.

The other animals are described as:

A older black male with a white spot on his chest.

A older black female with a grey face.

A medium-haired black and white cat.

A short-haired grey tabby cat with eye infections.

The SPCA is asking anyone with information about the case to call 1-877-722-1522.