The Licking County Humane Society in Heath, Ohio has its hands (and hearts) full after rescuing 80 dogs from a home on July 22. It is the largest rescue in the shelter’s history.
The shelter workers were called after a probation officer arrived because someone removed their “court-ordered ankle monitor,” PEOPLE reported. “They immediately called our local dog warden after seeing the amount of dogs and the conditions they were living in,” program and communications director at the Licking County Humane Society, Elycia Taylor, said. “Because it was a case of neglect, our county dog warden turned to us.”
According to the Newark Advocate, the animals were removed from the condemned home, where one person was also living. “Obviously, with that many dogs in a house had horrible, you know, sanitary issues,” Lori Carlson, the Licking County Humane Society’s executive director, said.
“What we believed would be about an hour or so long confiscation of around 30 dogs turned into five hours of us searching throughout the house to find 80 dogs and puppies in all areas of the home,” Carlson explained. Most of the dogs had fleas and others had skin infections.
“Five nursing moms with young puppies are now in the homes of some of our foster families,” she explained. “While some of the dogs will be ready for adoption in the next couple of days, many of them will continue to stay with us until we are able to remedy some more problematic medical concerns like skin lacerations, dental disease, and eye concerns.”
The organization said it would provide the dogs with shelter, food, water, and medical attention until they are all adopted. They will also be vaccinating the dogs, providing spay/neutering, microchipping, and will give the pups “complete behavior assessment/training.”
“Today is the start of a LONG process for these dear souls…but also the start of a new life. A life that will now be full of love, care, attention, and safety,” the shelter said in a Facebook post.
Taylor did have good news to share, telling PEOPLE that the dogs are “doing well” and getting “acquainted” with the staff caring for them.
