Thirteen of the huskies were welcomed in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC)Dog lovers in the Ottawa area are opening their hearts and homes to some of the 100 starving huskies turned over to an emergency shelter in Quebec's Laurentian region earlier in November.

Kelli LeBlanc drove for an hour to get to Ottawa to collect Amazing Grace — one of 13 shaking, skinny sled dogs brought by truck and trailer to parking lot on Merivale Road on Thursday afternoon by staff from the Humane Society of the United States.

The group had been called in to help with the dogs, rescued from a property in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., near Mont Tremblant.

"My heart breaks for her," said LeBlanc, after setting eyes on the frightened white husky for the first time. "She's been through a lot. But we know now she's safe and we're going to give her the best care that she deserves and she's going to have a chance at a real life that she deserves."

LeBlanc brought a present to welcome Amazing Grace — a tag with her new name on it.

Humane Society International reported Tuesday that the 100 sled dogs, including about 30 pregnant females, had been chained outside without regular acess to enough food, clean water or shelter.

Owner not charged

Kelli LeBlanc of the Westminster Pet Sanctuary welcomes Amazing Grace. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC)Their owner had turned them over to the SPCA Laurentides-Labelle because he was unable to properly care for them. As a condition of giving up the dogs, he will not be charged.

LeBlanc, who is with the Westminster Pet Sanctuary in Curran, Ont., east of Ottawa, found out about the dogs through a dog rescue email list and learned not all the dogs on the Quebec property survived the horrific conditions.

"I saw 70 odd pictures of dead dogs that were just rotting in the woods, basically," said LeBlanc, whose organization cares for animals with special medical needs.

Sharon McKeil is with a different dog rescue group, the Ottawa-based Bytown Association for Rescued Kanines (B.A.R.K.), which has found foster homes for six of the dogs, including three of the pregnant females. The group has already prepared packages of toys and treats for them, to be handed over once the animals have been checked by a vet.

She admitted it will be a challenge to deal with malnourished dogs that have spent their lives in the woods.

"Fortunately … because they lived with so many dogs in such small circumstances, they all get along with other dogs," she said. "That's a big bonus."