Over three dozen dogs abandoned at Thermal property amid extreme heat

Twenty dogs are recovering at the Coachella Valley Animal campus in Thousand Palms Friday after they were rescued from a Thermal property by Riverside County animal control officers.

More than three dozen dogs were left at a Thermal property where triple-digit heat and a lack of essentials caused about half of them to die before animal control officers could rescue them Thursday.

“Awful, just awful,” Department of Animal Services Deputy Director Jackie Schart said. “These dogs are so weak, so emaciated, so starved. There were dogs in crates with dead dogs. Just terrible.”

Officers received reports Thursday that canines had been abandoned at the house, located in the 88-000 block of Avenue 61, adjacent to a farm. When they arrived, they discovered 19 of the dogs dead from heat exposure in confined conditions, malnutrition, lack of water and related impacts, according to Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh.

Temperatures approached 120 degrees in the eastern Coachella Valley Thursday.

Twenty canines were seized from the property and placed in air- conditioned cages for transport to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, Welsh said.

“Veterinary services staffers examined the dogs and provided treatment,” he said. “Most are in very poor condition. Many are emaciated and weak.”

While some of the animals had been locked in rooms or crates, others were found roaming freely on the property, replete with rubbish and debris, according to Welsh.

Officers learned that the owner suffered a grave health complication and was hospitalized, leaving no one to care for the dogs.

“It’s understood that the man is in critical condition and may not survive,” Welsh said, adding that such circumstances cancel the likelihood of cruelty charges being sought against the owner, whose identity was not disclosed.

A relative of the man agreed to sign a release in his stead, relinquishing the remaining dogs to county custody.

The Department of Animal Services is seeking assistance from partner rescue organizations to help care for the creatures. Those that survive and stage recoveries may be available for adoption. But Welsh noted the animal campus is already under pressure and needs the canines currently housed at the facility to be adopted to make space.

“There are more than 200 dogs at the shelter currently — and only 84 kennel runs,” the agency spokesman said.

Anyone interested in adopting can visit the shelter or view homeless pets at rcdas.org/.

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