The mayor of Inuvik, N.W.T., is defending the treatment of stray dogs at the town's pound, while the local SPCA is asking police to lay animal cruelty charges against the town.

Linda Eccles, executive director of Inuvik's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said she was shocked to see the state of the pound when she and two RCMP officers checked on it on June 17.

"The ammonia smell in there was so strong it burns your eyes," Eccles told CBC News.

"The animals were very stressed, and they were living in very filthy conditions."

Eccles took pictures of the dogs, which were surrounded by their own excrement and chained to old oil tanks outside, with no water nearby.

'Best dog pound above the Arctic Circle': mayor

Eccles has asked the RCMP to lay animal cruelty charges against the town.

Mayor Derek Lindsay, however, said the town is doing what it can to care for stray dogs.

"We have probably the best dog pound above the Arctic Circle," Lindsay said.

"They are being very humanely treated, you know, considering some of the other communities in the Arctic do not pick up dogs and detain them for any period of time. They just shoot them on site."

Lindsay said only rarely is a cleaning shift missed, and excrement piles up as a result.

"For God's sakes, we're not supplying hotels for them," he said. "They don't get room service. We feed them. We water them. They have adequate space."

Dogs being euthanized

Last week, the town euthanized eight of the 10 dogs at the pound, in an effort to address crowding issues. Lindsay said the remaining two will be put down soon.

Eccles pointed out that putting down the dogs is not necessary, since Inuvik has a deal with the Calgary Humane Society to take the town's stray dogs.

Calgary Humane Society spokeswoman Pamela Amos said it would have helped Inuvik take the dogs if the town had asked.

"If they do need our help … we would definitely extend that to them," she said.

Lindsay said under an arrangement it has with Canadian North, the northern airline will only pay for one dog a month to be shipped to Calgary.

As for Eccles' allegations, Lindsay said she is simply airing a personal grievance with the town, since she was fired as its animal control officer last year.