Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: kktv.com, Feb 7, 2010

The American Humane Association’s animal emergency responders loaded 34 seized dogs from a suspected puppy mill in Olive Branch Miss., onto a plane on Sunday.

The plane is operated by Denver’s Pet Airways and they’re the ones who flew them to New York ASPCA’s (American Society for the Prevention to Cruelty to Animals) headquarters for adoption.

This is a culmination of five days of working together with the Marshall County Humane Society after 95 dogs and one cat were removed from the property of a suspected puppy mill.

They discovered dogs living in feces-encrusted pens and filth. They include small breeds, such as Shih Tzus, Lhasa apsos, pugs, Yorkshire terriers, corgis, and Chihuahuas.

Manny Maciel, an animal handler volunteering with American Humane’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services™, said that many dogs appeared underweight and appear to have skin problems, among other medical conditions.

Several dead adult dogs and puppies were found.

Also on the scene with the ASPCA and American Humane, personnel from Marshall County Humane Society, Mississippi State University and Collierville (Tenn.) Humane Society were removing and transporting animals to an emergency shelter site at the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic in Byhalia, Miss.

They were triaged by a veterinary team and temporarily sheltered before being transferred to other animal welfare agencies and ultimately made available for adoption. These are the last of the 34 dogs to be transferred.

“Collaboration among animal welfare groups, such as this effort between American Humane and the ASPCA — both national organizations — as well as several local organizations, is an effective way to address the needs of animals in situations like puppy mills and other emergencies,” said Debrah Schnackenberg, vice president of American Humane’s Animal Protection Division and director of its Animal Emergency Services. “Together, we can respond quickly, assemble the best resources, and provide the necessary treatment and care to help get these animals on the road to recovery and into the new, loving homes they all deserve.”

The investigation was set into motion after local officials contacted the ASPCA several weeks ago. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, led by Sheriff Kenny Dickerson, served a warrant, along with Sgt. Kelly McMillan, Investigators Gary Byrd and David Pannell, and Officer Tracy Jefferies. Charges against the puppy mill’s owners are currently pending, but the dogs have been signed over to the ASPCA.

Puppy mills are large-scale breeding operations where animals often live in filthy conditions that foster disease, and frequently suffer from neglect and the absence of veterinary care. Adult dogs are bred excessively and often spend their entire lives in small runs or cages. For the puppies, neglect of emotional needs due to lack of socialization, isolation and the trauma of transportation at an early age is a serious problem. In addition, ignorance or indifference to good breeding practices often results in dogs with genetic problems, and puppy mills add to the already critical problem of pet overpopulation.
American Humane seeks to eliminate puppy mills through enforcement of current laws and regulations, enactment of legislation, and public education to eliminate the market for such animals.

For more information about puppy mills and how to fight animal cruelty, please visit www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals.

Find us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/americanhumane and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/americanhumane.

The information contained in this release can be reused and posted with proper credit given to the American Humane Association.

Source: wreg.com,Feb 4, 2010

A tip led investigators to a rural home where they discovered one of the worst puppy mills they’ve ever seen.

A Mississippi couple faces dozens of misdemeanor counts of Animal Cruelty. Investigators with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found 95 dogs living in what they call “deplorable conditions” early Thursday. Animal experts say the type of matted hair found on some of the dogs took years to grow. It’s proof, they say, of neglect and abuse of 95 dogs found on the property. Investigators think the operation had gone on for a while, even though neighbors say they never suspected anything. It’s possible the couple took in animals, but then just had too many to care for. At some point, authorities say they started to breed more — for profit.

“I think she’s probably a very nice person and she’s trying to help these animals out,” says Mary Champlin who lives next door.

Neighbors watch in shock, as one by one the animals are tagged and evaluated. Most have disease and malnutrition. Marshall County Prosecutor Shirley Byers says she found carcasses all over the property, skeletal remains inside pens, and a pile of ash where she thinks the homeowners disposed of dead animals.

“It’s very difficult and very time consuming to take care of 100 animals. If you don’t have a staff… this is typically what you end up with,” says Tim Rickey with the ASPCA.

It’s possible they just had too many dogs to handle, but it’s the females that prove to investigators the problem goes beyond hoarding.

“She was a breeder,” says Kelley Wier with the American Humane Association as she holds an adult Chihuahua. “You can clearly see the teats, they’re elongated, so she’s been bred more than once.”

As the workers with the AHA trim lumps of matted hair from a shivering dog, they place it in bags that will entered into evidence that will eventually help charge the couple with animal abuse. The prosecutor says the Sheriff’s office knew of a problem back in 2008, but nothing happened. Byers says the woman responsible used to work at the Sheriff’s office, and her husband is the Assistant County Coroner. Charges could come in the next week.

In the meantime, the neglected dogs will stay at the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic in Byhalia. They are not up for adoption until the court process gets underway, however cash donations are needed to help care for the animals. Contact the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic, the American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org or the ASPCA at www.aspca.org.