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WATCH: Dogs Rescued From Deplorable Conditions in Mississippi

WATCH: Dogs Rescued From Deplorable Conditions in Mississippi

Our Justice for Animals campaign has been part of an integral partnership with the town of Charleston, Mississippi, and, in fact, the entire Tallahatchie County. This region is one of the least well-off in the state, with no shelter or animal welfare programs. Our relationship, however, has just saved more dogs yet who would have otherwise been left in a horrific hoarding situation with no hope.

 

In January, our Justice for Animals’ Senior Campaigner Doll Stanley met with Charleston Police Chief Jerry “Bubba” Williams at a residence that had been of concern for months. The woman who owned the property was seen staying in her driveway and sleeping in her immobile vehicle with one of her favored dogs. Neighbors repeatedly complained about the odor coming from the residence and reported seeing wild rats moving around in windows and the yard.



What Stanley, who is a seasoned cruelty investigator, found there astonished even her; she called it one of the worst cases she’s helped mitigate. A dog welcomed her through a broken window of the front door, and she was able to take some video footage of what was inside.

The cement floor couldn’t absorb any more urine from the 12 adult dogs who were bouncing from furnishings and an upside-down wheelchair, which were all saturated with both urine and feces. Even the walls were covered in feces, up to the ceiling in places! It had splattered absolutely everywhere, and the dogs were matted and caked in it.

Stanley called Sharon Stone, our Hope Animal Sanctuary’s operations manager, to let her know the sanctuary team would be essential in rescuing these dogs. Chief Williams contacted the woman’s son and asked him to aid us and law enforcement to ease the stress on all involved.

The dogs, who were largely unsocialized to humans, were all quickly captured and carefully taken out of their putrid house of horrors by Hope Animal Sanctuary caregivers in less than an hour.  Off to Hope Animal Sanctuary they went, where they would learn how good life can sometimes be. They were given baths, medicated, fed, and shown what actual human care should look like, possibly for the first time in their lives.



We had no idea that one of the dogs, Sugar Baby, was pregnant until we got back to the sanctuary. At that time, a caregiver was petting her and noticed she had milk. We moved her to a house of her own and in three days she gave birth to a beautiful family of puppies.

Meanwhile, it turned out that one of the dogs, Sampson, really enjoyed toys, despite being a bit shy around people. Luckily we had plenty for him to choose from to carry around.



Sugar Baby, her puppies, and the other dogs have all since been transported to rescue partners in the North and are now beloved family members.

For more on how to help dogs and other animals who are abused and neglected in the Deep South, visit our Hope Animal Sanctuary and Justice for Animals campaign.

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