Almost 350 dogs, 12 cats, 2 birds rescued
Grand Junction, MI (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 7, 2012
County: Allegan

Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Names Undisclosed

Julie Kowal, office administrator of the Allegan County Animal Shelter, was told late last week her facility would be getting about 60 dogs Monday from a Cheshire Township home.

Over the weekend, that number was revised to 90.

Monday morning, Kowal accompanied animal control officers to a small, two-bedroom house near Grand Junction. After they pulled almost 100 dogs from the house, the homeowner told the officials, "There's a dozen more."

"Then it was 'a dozen more' and 'another dozen more,' " Kowal said. "The dogs just kept coming and coming and coming."

In all, officials took almost 350 dogs from the property, plus 12 cats and two birds, Kowal said.

Kowal said the home was occupied by a couple who were breeding dogs for profit and got in over the heads.

"The animal control people said they had been trying to work with her to lower her numbers," but finally decided they need to take the dogs into custody, Kowal said.

Officials said it was the largest single intake involving the Allegan County Animal Shelter in memory.

"I've not only never seen that before, I've never even heard of anything like this," said Josh Mohler, kennel manager for the shelter.

The dogs -- mostly Shih Tzu and Pomeranian mixes, with a few Maltese and Yorkshire Terriers -- were found crusted with feces and "urine-soaked to the bone," Kowal said.

Many also had issues with their teeth, Kowal said, "plus we had lots of pregnant moms and lots of babies.

Still, only one dog needed immediate medical treatment and once the dogs are cleaned up, many should be available for adoption, according to Kowal. "I haven't seen any dogs that we need to put down," she said.

Monday afternoon and evening, several dozen volunteers from Wishbone Animal Rescue, which runs the shelter, were helping to process the dogs. Each animal was getting a preliminary health check and they were being sorted by gender and color.

Many of the volunteers wore rubber gloves and some had masks as they handled the filth-encrusted dogs.

"It makes me want to cry," said volunteer Brittany McMillan, 18, of Allegan.

The processing started at 1 p.m., and there were still more than 100 dogs to process as of 6 p.m. Mohler said groomers would be coming in Tuesday to start shaving the dogs and then they would all need to be bathed.

"We're taking it one day at time," Mohler said. "It's going to take a couple days for us to wrap our heads around this.

"We're hoping some other groups will step in and help us," he added. "We're clearly not set up for a situation like this."

Kowal said the shelter desperately needs donations of cash and dog supplies, especially soft dog food, to help care for the animals.

"We also need professional dog groomers," she said. People wishing to donate or help can call the shelter at 269-686-5112.

The names of the homeowners who kept the dogs was not released.

A news release from the Allegan County Sheriff's Office said the couple were cooperating with the Animal Control officers and are assisting in making arrangements for the animals to be relinquished to the county so that homes may be found for them.

The case remains under investigation by Animal Control.

If you want to help
The one or more of the dogs.

References

• « MI State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Allegan County, MI

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