The Lincoln County Humane Society has received an outpouring of help after it took in more than 50 dogs from a Gleason-area breeder.
On Saturday evening, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Lincoln County Humane Society in removing over 50 dogs from a residence on County Rd. J in the Town of Russell. All of the animals were safely removed and brought to the shelter. According to the Sheriff’s Office, no criminal charges are being pursued at this time.
The Humane Society put out a call for help through its Facebook page Saturday night, seeking donations of dog food and supplies, along with volunteers to assist with the sudden overcrowding at the shelter. Because the dogs need to go through intake procedures at the shelter, they cannot be immediately put up for adoption or placed into foster care. Instead, the Humane Society was seeking foster families for other animals at the shelter to create room for the incoming dogs.
The shelter was a hive of activity Sunday afternoon as people brought in donations, offered to volunteer and took animals into their homes.
“The community has been awesome,” said shelter manager Liz Friedenfels. “We’re seeing a lot of people who haven’t fostered before. We can’t legally let the dogs go out yet, but because many are small they can go into the cat kennels. So, we’re trying to get as many cats into foster care as we can.”
The Humane Society received a call Saturday afternoon from the breeder, seeking to surrender 20 dogs. The Humane Society sought assistance from the Sheriff’s Office.
“By 10 p.m. we were dealing with 50 dogs coming in,” Friedenfels said. “Considering the situation, the animals were very well cared for. It was definitely out of control, but the animals were not in immediate danger.”
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies had been aware for weeks that the dogs were living at the residence. They had been working with the owners in order to keep the residence clean and sanitary.
The landlord of the home evicted the couple, thus prompting them to contact the Humane Society and seek help in re-locating the animals.
The house had heat and running water during the entire time the dogs were staying there, according to the sheriff’s office.
The couple had expressed an interest in obtaining a kennel license and a deputy was trying to assist them with that process which begins each year in January.
The exact number of animals brought to the shelter came to 57. The dogs include Australian Shepherds, Chihuahuas, Poodles and Teddy Bears. Many of them are very young puppies that still need their mothers.
“As soon as we have that ability, we’d like to get the moms and babies into foster care,” Friedenfels said.
The large number of new arrivals puts the shelter way over its capacity. To handle the overload, the shelter is seeking volunteers to help with cleaning in the mornings.
“We need lots of helpers,” Friedenfels said.
The Humane Society is currently taking applications on the new arrivals, even though they aren’t releasable yet. The shelter is in need of KMR puppy formula, canned puppy food, puppy pads, old sheets, blankets, cleaning supplies and small dog or cat beds. Foster families willing to take in other dogs or cats at the shelter are also being sought.
More information can be found on the Lincoln County Humane Society Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lincoln-County-Humane-Society/79596507254.