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It's a story that's received international attention: 100 sled dogs killed 'execution-style.'

"It was almost unbelievable, very disappointing and tragic," says local musher Jackie Winkowski.  "It's just nothing that I could imagine happening in this area or with any kennel that I know."

One hundred sled dogs, shot and killed after bookings for sled dog tours declined.

The accused?  Whistler, British Columbia-based Outdoor Adventures.

It's been alleged that the Canadian company didn't want the added expense of feeding and caring for dogs that were no longer being used.  The employee assigned to shoot the animals is now claiming post-traumatic stress disorder, and the company is defending itself against allegations of animal cruelty from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"There was an expectation that if euthanization was required, it would be done in an appropriate and legal manner," said Outdoor Adventures spokesman, Graham Aldcroft, recently at a press conference.

But it wasn't, according to reports.

A story in the Vancouver Sun a few weeks ago says many of the dogs were killed in mass shootings, carried out in front of one another.

Area mushers are shocked by the news.

"Sled dog mushers do love their dogs and generally take very good care of their dogs and regard them as members of their family," Winkowski adds.

At Snowy Plains Kennel, there are 28 dogs on the property.  The Winkowskis keep their dogs, even when they're past their racing prime.

"If a dog has geriatric issues that were causing them to suffer, we wouldn't allow that to go on; we would take them into a veterinarian and have it dealt with," she says.

Unlike how the situation was handled in Whistler.

A statement released by a spokesman says there are no longer firearms on site, and any time a sled dog is euthanized in the future, it will be done in a vet's office.