People in Pictou County, N.S., are rallying in support of a little dog named Meeka, after the animal was found severely injured in a home on Valentine's Day.

A 55-year-old man is facing animal cruelty charges after police removed several dead dogs and an injured dog from a property in Sylvester, N.S. last Thursday. The RCMP and the Nova Scotia SPCA are investigating the incident.

Brittany Panisiak, the woman who made the allegations, shared her story with CTV News.

On Thursday afternoon, Panisiak says she came home to the room she rented in the rural neighbourhood. The landlord's dog recently had a litter of puppies that Panisiak says she took care of.

“When we opened the door I went to go right to see the puppies, I got to where the puppies were and I started screaming. I said, ‘Where’s my babies? Where’s the puppies at?’ In place of them was two garbage bins.”

Panisiak says she was in shock.

“I fell to the ground on my knees, and I said, ‘God, what happened to these babies? ‘And I fell to my knees and I was screaming, and I just said, ‘No, what’s going to happen?’”

Panisiak says she had a reason to be worried. She suspected the owner of the dogs was abusing them.

Then, she says she saw the mother dog, Meeka, walking into the house.

“My mom said, ‘What’s wrong Meeka?’ because there was blood on her face. So we followed her to the spot where she laid and nursed her puppies. We went and looked at her, and she had two big blows on her head. Her eye was gone, it was picked out.”

Panisiak then called the RCMP, who arrived at the home on Maple Street. They removed Meeka from the house, along with a dead adult dog and six dead puppies. They will perform necropsies to determine their causes of death.

As for Meeka, the SPCA says she is in bad shape, but they are hoping for a full recovery.

“The dog is receiving treatment for a head trauma. She received a lot of swelling for her head, so we’re treating her for that,” said Jo-Anne Landsburg, chief provincial inspector for the Nova Scotia SPCA.

“Her body-score condition is very low, she’s very thin, so that kind of complicates the situation. She’s still in very serious condition. She’s still on IV fluids and she’s receiving 24-hour veterinary care. We are hopeful that she will make a good recovery after this incident, but she’s still not out of the woods yet, but we’re very confident in the care that she’s been receiving.”

For Panisiak, seeing pictures of Meeka recovering is emotional.

“She looks sad that she lost another litter of babies, but I'm happy she survived. She spoke for herself in her own kind of way. If she hadn't have survived no one would have known what he did.”

A 55-year-old-man was arrested at the scene and will appear in court in April. Police have not confirmed his name.

People can donate directly to the SPCA and mention they are making the donation for Meeka.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Emily Baron Cadloff.