Graphic images of the 160 dogs collected in a raid last week in Stokes County show the dogs sleeping in their own waste, in makeshift kennels that had exposed wires and an infestation of mice.
But Kim Alboum, director of the Humane Society of North Carolina, which took the pictures, hopes some good will come out of what she called a “heartbreaking” scene. She wants it to be a catalyst that will push North Carolinians to demand more regulation of commercial dog breeders – an industry that now has little oversight in the state.
“My expectation is that our legislators are going to see the outcry from the general public and hopefully help us move something forward and get some regulations in place,” Alboum said. “The majority of people want to have regulations for commercial dog breeders in North Carolina. They want to have some level of accountability.”
More than 500 dogs were recovered in the five puppy mill raids in North Carolina last year – in Wake, Caldwell, Franklin, Perquimans and Lincoln counties.
Rescued dogs typically need extensive care to recuperate from health and socialization problems associated with their living conditions.
Sometimes the dogs are in such bad shape that they must be euthanized, but the goal, according to Deborah Steely, manager of the Wake SPCA holding center, is always to rehabilitate them. Steely assisted in the transport of 14 Stokes County dogs from Greensboro to Wake County last week. The Humane Society of Charlotte has 33 of the dogs from the raid.
Marsha Williams, executive director of the Guilford County Animal Shelter, which received 129 of the Stokes dogs, said many of them have eye issues, hematomas, heart murmurs, severe dental problems, matting and dermatitis. Some of the dogs have broken jaws and teeth, which occurs in calcium-depleted smaller dogs that have been over bred.
“Two of the dogs were mamas nursing babies,” Williams said. She thinks at least seven of the dogs her shelter received are pregnant.
Some of the dogs kept knocking over their food bowls at the shelter. Officials think they had never used a bowl – their food was usually just spread in their cages with the animals’ feces.
All of the dogs taken from the Stokes site, Dan River Bullies in Danbury, were French and English bulldogs, Boston terriers, Shih Tzus, Yorkshire terriers and Chihuahuas. One African parrot was also surrendered.
Charges are expected to be filed against the owners, Willis and Lucile Mabe, after veterinarians finish evaluating the dogs.
Read more here:
