When Good Intentions Go Bad

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I help with what I can for the local dog pound. No biggie.

Well, today the sheriff, the dog warden, volunteers from the pound and the humane society (not an official one by any means) shut down via court order a local "rescue" due to poor conditions. The owner of the rescue will face charges of neglect and animal cruelty.

Turns out I know the woman. I met her some years ago when Nichole had rescued a pup and we needed help finding her forever home. This woman was supposed to help us do that. Thankfully, we didn't let her take the boxer mix young pup, instead she stayed with us. Weeks turned into two months and I told Nichole we'd better rehome her ourselves as it was taking ridiculously long. Indeed, it took us less than a week of interviewing people to find her a really nice family who came all the way from Kentucky to adopt her.

During that process I thought it odd that she ran a rescue but her website rarely had new photos and she didn't seem to keep up with it very well. She was always literally begging for food for the dogs..........which is why we kept the pup at our house. I didn't want her going somewhere she might or might not be fed. But the woman was truly nice, just odd, and waaaaaaaay over zealous about rescuing dogs, any dogs, all dogs, even dogs with owners.

She was my fb friend for a short while several months ago because I spotted her via another rescue friend of mine and I thought I could help share dogs she had for adoption to find them families. (I mean gee it takes what a whole second to put one on my fb page for 500 people to see) It didn't last long because she remembered I had Rowdy outside in a kennel. We'd butted heads over that when she was trying to help us rehome that pup and I told her off..........and we butted heads again a few months ago because she was posting photos and telling people to go snatch these dogs out of people's yards that it was cruel to have any dog outside! Every photo the dog had a house and either they were on a lead or they were in a kennel, they were obviously well fed and in good shape. Now I'm sorry but that is just extreme. A dog can be perfectly happy outside as long as it's cared for properly and given attention.......even one on a lead if it is done right so the dog can't get tangled.

Burns me up that they found 120 dogs crammed in kennels with standing water/mud. Two dead dogs were among them. She's been reported several times it seems for hungry and emaciated dogs by people who go there to adopt. The conditions were horrid. Not surprising as one person just can't care for 120 dogs alone.

I went to her fb page for her "rescue". There are 10 dogs shown up for adoption and all photos are old. No wonder she has 120 dogs. I think this is a case of hoarding.....using the rescue as an excuse. Her heart is in the right place, she is totally nuts (literally) about dogs........but if you can't rehome them then you have a serious problem.

Now the county is faced with attempting to place 120 dogs. Our pound can maybe hold 15. The human society maybe 30......and that would be pushing it. Neither are very big. Dogs/pups that were sick have already been removed and are receiving care. It seems they have to be held somewhere until the case is set up for court? So a call has went out countywide for people to please open their homes and foster for a few weeks as many dogs/pups as they can.

I'm patiently waiting to see how this is being handled. I don't mind fostering.........I have the room and food/vet is provided. Due to conditions, I'm worried about temperament. If I choose to foster I want it to be with a dog/puppy that will get along with Maggie easily. She is uber friendly to other dogs and I don't want that to change. I could place one in Rowdy's kennel (once we do the routine spring scrubbing) and maybe take one inside. But I'm waiting to see if temperament is being evaluated and if we can meet the dogs first.

Nichole would foster one but she would have to talk her husband into it, which doesn't seem likely. lol easy child just adopted a pup from the pound and is due to pick him up Sat......she doesn't have room.

It's a sad sad thing. Good intentions gone bad due to gfgness. :( I'm not mad at the owner per se. But I AM ticked that the county let it go on for so long despite complaints........and that now every dog in the pound we work so hard to save is now in jeopardy of being put down to make room.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
That is animal hoarding and it goes on all the time. Jamie could tell you awful tales. He doesnt tell me much of what he does because he knows it would upset me. I hate that you are having to go through this up close and personal. I hate to say it but Im sure that many of those dogs wont make it to the point of being able to be rescued because of the conditions that she had kept them in. Im betting a lot of them will be so sick with things she should have vaccinated for and never did that they may have to be put down. Not many people will be willing to take on the expense of heart worms. Especially if they are bad.

Jamie went into one house where almost every dog in there had parvo. It was so sad.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
That's just pitiful! I can see where there might be a very fine line between genuinely wanting to help animals and becoming obsessed over it. I think some people start off with good intentions and then quickly get in over their heads. It's not hard to do. I've seen people like this on the TV shows like "Hoarders" where they have dozens and dozens of animals living in horrible conditions. These people seem to be blinded to the fact that the animals mostly are sick and suffering and really believe that they are helping them. I can understand it because if I allowed myself, I would probably end up doing this too. But at least with me, I know when I have reached my limit. It costs a great deal of money to properly take care of an animal, providing them with the proper food, vet care and attention. If you can't do that with the animals you have, then you have too many.
 
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susiestar

Roll With It
Lisa, have you ever seen the show Dog Town that used to be on National Geographic? It is on youtube now. It is about the Best Friends Animal Shelter in Utah. They are the largest shelter in the US (probably in the world) and they help shelters with this sort of thing. The local shelter/humane society/rescue can contact them and ask for help. I know they go to other states and sometimes know people who will bring animals to them. They don't take anmals from individuals, only from shelters. But they often have or can find resources that can help. The lady who was intrumental in making our humane society a no kill shelter and who got our local animal control to get as close to that as is possible, actually went out and spent several of her vacations at this shelter helping out. They took the worst of Michael Vick's dogs and turned some of them around. NONE were put down because they couldn't be retrained. They have areas for that, and they worked with some of them for a very long time.

Maybe if the local people got in contact they could help or give some ideas?

http://bestfriends.org/

You can search on youtube for Dog Town to find the show. It is amazing. not many episodes, but really neat.
 
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