Most of the 79 dogs rescued from a shed outside Winnipeg are in decent shape at the Winnipeg Humane Society's headquarters, according to officials.

Provincial animal services officers discovered the dogs — mostly bulldogs and Lhasa Apsos — stuffed into crates in a shed north of Winnipeg, in the West St. Paul area, on Tuesday night.

"It's a huge number of animals to look after. Some of them had two or three animals per crate," Dr. Wayne Lees, Manitoba's chief veterinary officer, told CBC News on Wednesday.

"We're always shocked when we come across this number of animals that are kept in confinement," he added. "These are not pleasant cases to deal with, and we don't like to see them, but we deal with them whenever they come up."

Prior reports indicated that 71 dogs were seized, but that number was revised to 79 on Wednesday.

The dogs, which also included some wheaten terriers and a couple of spaniels, were taken to the Winnipeg Humane Society, where volunteers tagged and identified the animals and veterinarians checked each of them over for medical issues.

Humane society CEO Bill McDonald said some of the dogs are underweight, and some show signs of gum disease.

"The vast majority of them are in pretty decent shape," McDonald said.

"Part of the medical exam [involve] blood work as well, so that will be off for analysis."

Trying to make room for new arrivals

Coincidentally, on Wednesday the humane society was hosting Puppypalooza, in which prospective dog owners could adopt a puppy for just $100.

Puppypalooza was planned well in advance of Tuesday's dog rescue. McDonald said the society was hoping to find new homes for 35 puppies in order to make room for the new arrivals.

"We do have some of them housed in the garage, which is the first time we've ever done that in this building," he said.

CBC News tried to speak to the occupant of the West St. Paul home where the puppies were found, but no one was home on Wednesday.

Neighbours told CBC News a woman has lived at that location for years, but she spent the last few months in Toronto.

The neighbours said they started hearing barking and yelping sounds from the shed after the woman returned to West St. Paul on Monday evening.

Officials with the Rural Municipality of West St. Paul would not say if there has ever been a complaint about the property in question.