 The initial population of perhaps 2,000 dogs has grown over the years to the point where some estimate that 20 years later as many as 200,000 wild dogs wander the streets of the city.The Wild Dogs won the Best Canadian Feature at the 2002 Atlantic Film Festival

The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, won four prizes including the Best Canadian Film Award and Best Director at the Atlantic Film Festival, and was nominated for four Academy of Canadian Cinema (Genie) Awards including a Best supporting Actor nomination for David Hayman as a womanizing diplomat with cancer.Director Thom Fitzgerald picked up an "Emerging Master" trophy from the Seattle International Film Festival and the film was nominated for the Best Film at the Taos Talking Film Festival.