EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – Last Saturday, 53 dogs were rescued from a hoarding incident at an Evansville home in the 900 block of South Elliott Street.
Evansville Animal Care & Control were originally dispatched to the residence for a dog bite. However, when they arrived, they knew there was a much bigger issue at hand.
[PREVIOUS STORY: EPD: Over 50 neglected dogs taken from Evansville home]
Evansville Police said the inside of the home was covered in dog hair, urine and feces. They also said more than two people were living in the residence at the time.
According to Officer Taylor Merriss, a majority of the dogs were “mostly in good care,” and signed over to animal control by the owners.
Merriss said that no criminal charges have been filed at this time, but there are statutes that say there are a certain number of dogs a person is allowed to have in their residence.
“There are, in the state of Indiana and in the city (of Evansville), restrictions on how many animals you can have in your home. That is kind of the state and city’s way to make sure that people are not taking on too much monetary funds or the ability to care for these pets,” said Merris.
Thanks to the help of many local animal shelters and non-profit organizations, many animals’ lives were saved.
Laurie Miller, Development and Public Relations Coordinator for the Vanderburgh Humane Society said out of the 11 dogs that they took in, each of them needed extensive care.
“All of them needed their nails trimmed terribly. Obviously, they needed baths, and just a lot of TLC in the weeks to come before they go up for adoption.”
“It Takes A Village” took in 19 of the dogs, with 17 on-site and available to foster.
Amanda Green, CEO of “It Takes A Village,” released this statement regarding the events over the weekend:
“It is sad to see cases like this where dogs are living in unsafe conditions but we were so glad to see our entire community come together to help the Evansville Animal Care and Control find places for these dogs. Now we are asking the community to continue their support by becoming a foster to help these dogs until they can be placed in a forever home. We would also like to thank Vanderburgh Humane Society, Dubois County Humane Society and Warrick County Humane Society for their efforts in this case. It truly does “Take a Village” and our village showed up this weekend!”
Stephanie Terry, Mayor of Evansville, posted on social media on Monday thanking several organizations for their help in saving these animals.
She also mentioned, in order to help prevent something like this from happening in the future, she and other city officials are in the process of scheduling a Town Hall focused on animal sheltering services in the city.
“Issues with animal over-population are happening nationally, and that is not an issue that is going away,” said Joe Atkinson, Communications Director for the Office of Mayor Stephanie Terry.
“That is why we think it is important to pull all of these different groups together to have this town hall session and to have a community conversation about the best ways we can move forward in terms of helping animal control. We have a tremendous staff of very dedicated people who work there and we want to be able to give them all the tools that they need to succeed.”
The Town Hall meeting regarding animal hoarding is still in the works, with no timetable on when it will take place.
Evansville Police are still investigating the animal hoarding incident. They also want to remind the public that if they see any animals in the way of harm, to feel free to call them.
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