Animal control rescues 70 dogs in Medford home
Shelter, fosters step in after case discovered
Some of the dogs rescued from a hoarding case in Med- ford are loaded up for the trip to a rescue organization in Virginia last week. (photo:Anderson County Animal Shelter )
“Behind the scenes lies a remarkable story of dedication and perseverance,” the Anderson County Animal Shelter said on its Facebook page.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Slumdog Rescue Crew/Friends of Anderson County Shelter for their incredible efforts in transporting the last 27 of the dogs from the recent hoarding case to Old Dominion Humane Society, a journey of over four hours to Virginia,” the post said.
“ACAS is deeply inspired by the outpouring of support we’ve received this week, not only from our local community but also from as far away as Illinois, demonstrating the power of collective compassion.
“We appreciate every single one of you! Thank you … to all those [who] have put in foster applications this [past] week; we are actively sorting through all of those, and will get back to you this week. We appreciate your patience and understanding.”
While responding to a medical emergency in Medford that resulted in the death of a resident in the home, officials also found what eventually turned out to be 70 puppies and dogs in need of care, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said.
The dogs ranged in age from as young as a week to adult, according to shelter Director Damon McKenna.
As the shelter was already over capacity, calls went out immediately looking for foster care volunteers to help take care of the rescued dogs.
The shelter posted on its Facebook page on March 13 that the first 16 dogs pulled from the property are now at Humane Society of Jefferson County.
“The owners willingly have surrendered all the dogs,” McKenna said.
The Anderson County shelter has only 12 kennels, and already had more dogs than it could keep for very long after the first 16 were brought in from Medford.
Construction is underway on a new, much-larger county animal shelter, but it’s not expected to open for about a year.
“I truly appreciate our animal control and shelter team for working so hard to take care of these sweet animals, especially in the middle of the night for this particular case,” Mayor Frank said Monday.
“I’m also so thankful for the partners who help in a situation like this, from agency partners to citizens willing to foster, to the great folks at Jefferson County Humane Society,” she said.
“This particular case highlights the need for a shelter with more capacity and better quarantine separation.
“We are truly looking forward to the new space where we’ll be able to handle emergency situations like this, as well as meeting the daily needs of citizens,” Frank said.
