Culled sled dogs to be buried in pet cemetery near picturesque Penticton, B.C.

VANCOUVER – Dozens of sled dogs that were slaughtered after the Vancouver Olympics in an animal cruelty case that made international headlines are getting a proper burial.

The B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the 56 dogs that were killed in Whistler, B.C. in winter 2010 will be laid to rest on Nov. 2.

The service will be held at the SPCA pet cemetery near Penticton, in the southern Interior, which spokeswoman Marcie Moriarty says was chosen because of its beauty and because the case touched people around the province.

The cull set off a massive animal-cruelty investigation into the former general manager of Howling Dog Tours, Robert Fawcett, who pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the animals in August.

Investigators dug up the dogs’ bodies from a mass grave near the ski resort to gather forensic evidence to support the charge, and the remains were handled carefully for a future burial.

Fawcett will be sentenced in late November.