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Officials raid puppy mill, seize 40 dogs |
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Friday, 03 October 2008 |
Representatives of the Humane Society of Saline County and Pulaski County Humane Society recently rescued 40 dogs being used as breed animals in what is being described as a puppy mill in Saline County.
Ann Sanders, president of the Saline group, said the conditions at the Lonsdale site were “deplorable.”
Twenty of the animals were taken to the Saline County animal shelter in Bauxite and the other 20 were taken to Pulaski County’s shelter, Sanders said. “One that went to Pulaski County has died, and all of them that are at our shelter are so horribly frightened.”
Sanders said local groomers are scheduled to come to the shelter to help bathe and groom the dogs, which are “matted beyond anything I could describe. Their eyes are infected, but the worst thing about them is the fear you see in their eyes.
“There’s only one that seems happy to see anyone right now,” she said. “It’s really a pathetic situation.
“They were being kept in a shed in tiny, nasty kennels, where there was one window,” Sanders said. “Their coats were soaked with urine and feces, and the odor was overpowering.”
When someone asked how she could stand to enter the building because of the odor, she replied, “It’s a lot worse on the dogs. Their lungs are a lot smaller than ours.
“If anyone has bought a puppy recently that they think may have come from a puppy mill, we’re asking that they call either us at 557-5518 or Pulaski County Humane Society at 227-6166,” Sanders said.
She explained how a transaction with the operator of a puppy mill traditionally works.
“They advertise the dogs in the newspaper and then they arrange to meet the prospective buyer on a parking lot,” she said. “They will sell for cash only, and they will not allow the buyer to come to their site to see the parents.
“We’re still working on the investigation,” Sanders said.
No arrests have been made, but charges will be filed, Sanders said. “We’re hoping there will be 40 counts of animal cruelty.”
The persons involved in the operation have been selling the puppies of the rescued dogs for $300-$400 each, Sanders said.
“We saw no puppies,” Sanders said. “We don’t know where the puppies are.”
The breeds involved are Shih Tzus, dachshunds, poodles, Chihuahuas and some Sanders could not identify because of the terrible condition of the coats, she said.
Donations to assist with the care of these animals may be mailed to the Humane Society at P.O. Box 305, Benton, AR 72018.
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