Nearly 50 dogs, including several litters of puppies, will soon be available for adoption after the animals were found at a landfill outside a town in northwestern Alberta.

A team of volunteers from Calgary made the 11 hour drive on Monday night to the town of High Level after dozens of stray or surrendered dogs were located.

“They were out in the cold at a dump eating garbage, scavenging for food,” said Krys Stewart, a volunteer with the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS).

The convoy returned to Calgary with 48 animals in need of care.

“Some of them were quite emaciated and dehydrated,” said Deanna Thompson, executive director of AARCS. “Our team had to take care of that and they will go into foster care and put on weight before they go up for adoption.”

Thompson expects the animals will be available for adoption come December.

“In the meantime, we’re going to be doing all their medical to make sure they get spayed, neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and that requires a lot of money. Being a non-profit organization, we’re reaching out to the public as well to help us get these guys into forever homes.”

For additional information regarding adoptions or donations, visit AARCS.

With files from CTV’s Stephanie Wiebe