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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Merrifield clinic helps treat dogs rescued from puppy mill
Posted by:
PAWs
()
Date: July 09, 2014 01:55PM
Merrifield clinic helps treat dogs rescued from puppy mill
http://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/local/merrifield-clinic-helps-treat-dogs-rescued-from-puppy-mill/article_f0c4a862-0766-11e4-b0bf-001a4bcf887a.html
Authorities who raided a so-called “puppy mill” in Page County July 3 found 132 dogs and four parrots living in severely unsanitary conditions.
Tipped off by the Washington-based Animal Rescue Corps after an undercover investigation, Page County Sheriff’s Office and Animal Control personnel shut down the breeding facility and obtained the operator’s consent to transfer ownership of the pets to the rescue group.
About 30 of those dogs wound up at Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Merrifield July 8, where employees gave them free vaccinations and prepared the canines to be transferred to foster groups and eventually permanent homes.
Video shot by the rescue group shows the awful circumstances under which the animals previously lived. A surfeit of dogs, suffering from matted fur, infections and parasites, peeked out warily from their cramped cages.
A strong ammonia odor, the result of the animals’ living in their own feces and urine, suffused the air and stung rescue workers’ eyes. The harshly acidic ammonia also burned the dogs’ footpads, said Scotlund Haisley, president and founder of Animal Rescue Corps.
“None of them had ever seen a veterinarian or known a loving human touch,” he said.
The dogs’ matted fur trapped moisture and did not allow their skin to breathe properly, causing infections, said Dr. Carole Richards, the animal hospital’s owner.
Animal Rescue Corps workers tended to the dogs’ flea and matting problems, making it easier for Richards and her staff to check the animals for dental diseases, eye and ear issues and other problems
Most of the dogs were small breeds such as Chihuahuas, although one bulldog exceeded 40 pounds. Some were emaciated when rescuers found them.
“A lot of these dogs had heart murmurs when they first came in, just from the dehydration,” Richards said.
Puppy mills often specialize in small dogs because more of them can fit in one space, she added.
The rescue event was the first for the animal hospital, which opened a month ago. Its personnel will vaccinate the dogs for rabies, distemper and leptospirosis and spay and neuter some of the pets.
“It’s all about getting into a rhythm and processing the dogs as fast and thoroughly as we can,” Richards said.
The efforts were made possible by the animal hospital’s nonprofit organization, Caring Hands Animal Support and Education.
Animal Rescue Corps performs rescue operations about once per month in locations around the United States and in Canada, Haisley said. The Page County investigation was the organization’s first such undertaking in Virginia. Dubbed “Operation Liberty Dogs,” it put the group’s volunteers through a 16-hour workday that began at 6 a.m.
Puppy mills typically house 100 to 200 dogs; the Page County puppy mill fit that pattern. Only one person was caring for the animals, when the standard ratio is one worker for every 10 pets, said Haisley, who has a tattoo of the rescue organization’s winged logo on his left arm.
The rescue group will advise Page County authorities on what charges to press against the breeding facility’s owners. Haisley said the organization will suggest at least one count of animal cruelty for each pet there.
“Our greatest recommendation is that these people never be allowed to own animals again,” he said.
The Page County operation cost the group between $20,000 and $25,000. Animal Rescue Corps relies solely on donations to finance such efforts.
For more information about the group and its donation process, visit www.animalrescuecorps.org.
Three Chihuahua puppies look out of their crate July 8 at Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Merrifield after being rescued from a puppy mill five days earlier in Page County, Va.
Attachments:
http://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/local/merrifield-clinic-helps-treat-dogs-rescued-from-puppy-mill/article_f0c4a862-0766-11e4-b0bf-001a4bcf887a.html
Authorities who raided a so-called “puppy mill” in Page County July 3 found 132 dogs and four parrots living in severely unsanitary conditions.
Tipped off by the Washington-based Animal Rescue Corps after an undercover investigation, Page County Sheriff’s Office and Animal Control personnel shut down the breeding facility and obtained the operator’s consent to transfer ownership of the pets to the rescue group.
About 30 of those dogs wound up at Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Merrifield July 8, where employees gave them free vaccinations and prepared the canines to be transferred to foster groups and eventually permanent homes.
Video shot by the rescue group shows the awful circumstances under which the animals previously lived. A surfeit of dogs, suffering from matted fur, infections and parasites, peeked out warily from their cramped cages.
A strong ammonia odor, the result of the animals’ living in their own feces and urine, suffused the air and stung rescue workers’ eyes. The harshly acidic ammonia also burned the dogs’ footpads, said Scotlund Haisley, president and founder of Animal Rescue Corps.
“None of them had ever seen a veterinarian or known a loving human touch,” he said.
The dogs’ matted fur trapped moisture and did not allow their skin to breathe properly, causing infections, said Dr. Carole Richards, the animal hospital’s owner.
Animal Rescue Corps workers tended to the dogs’ flea and matting problems, making it easier for Richards and her staff to check the animals for dental diseases, eye and ear issues and other problems
Most of the dogs were small breeds such as Chihuahuas, although one bulldog exceeded 40 pounds. Some were emaciated when rescuers found them.
“A lot of these dogs had heart murmurs when they first came in, just from the dehydration,” Richards said.
Puppy mills often specialize in small dogs because more of them can fit in one space, she added.
The rescue event was the first for the animal hospital, which opened a month ago. Its personnel will vaccinate the dogs for rabies, distemper and leptospirosis and spay and neuter some of the pets.
“It’s all about getting into a rhythm and processing the dogs as fast and thoroughly as we can,” Richards said.
The efforts were made possible by the animal hospital’s nonprofit organization, Caring Hands Animal Support and Education.
Animal Rescue Corps performs rescue operations about once per month in locations around the United States and in Canada, Haisley said. The Page County investigation was the organization’s first such undertaking in Virginia. Dubbed “Operation Liberty Dogs,” it put the group’s volunteers through a 16-hour workday that began at 6 a.m.
Puppy mills typically house 100 to 200 dogs; the Page County puppy mill fit that pattern. Only one person was caring for the animals, when the standard ratio is one worker for every 10 pets, said Haisley, who has a tattoo of the rescue organization’s winged logo on his left arm.
The rescue group will advise Page County authorities on what charges to press against the breeding facility’s owners. Haisley said the organization will suggest at least one count of animal cruelty for each pet there.
“Our greatest recommendation is that these people never be allowed to own animals again,” he said.
The Page County operation cost the group between $20,000 and $25,000. Animal Rescue Corps relies solely on donations to finance such efforts.
For more information about the group and its donation process, visit www.animalrescuecorps.org.
Three Chihuahua puppies look out of their crate July 8 at Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Merrifield after being rescued from a puppy mill five days earlier in Page County, Va.
Attachments:
Re: Merrifield clinic helps treat dogs rescued from puppy mill
Posted by:
PekingHouse II Specials
()
Date: July 09, 2014 01:56PM
Coming Soon!
Re: Merrifield clinic helps treat dogs rescued from puppy mill
Posted by:
Independent
()
Date: July 09, 2014 01:57PM
Was Vick running the puppy mill?
Re: Merrifield clinic helps treat dogs rescued from puppy mill
Posted by:
9HeFT
()
Date: July 09, 2014 02:04PM
What a waste of time and money..Geez. Put em down. End of discussion.
Re: Merrifield clinic helps treat dogs rescued from puppy mill
Posted by:
Brian Piper
()
Date: July 09, 2014 03:04PM
I never knew my mother's touch until I was 12 and she made me sleep with her.