PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP/Gray News) – Nearly 150 dogs were rescued from a home in West Virginia.
The Humane Society of Parkersburg said 146 canines were recovered from a single location late Wednesday afternoon.
Samantha Tannous, the shelter manager, said a tip came in from a neighbor of the home, who notified them there were at least 10 chihuahuas inside the house.
“Our humane officers went there, and just from the looks and feces that was present, we knew there was probably more than 10,” Tannous said. “We were not expecting 146.”
The humane society said the number of dogs found at the home was overwhelming.
“Things just got out of hand,” executive director Gary McIntyre said. “The dogs, unfortunately, were not spayed or neutered, and because of that, they just continued to have litters of dogs, and then each new litter began to have additional litters.”
Volunteer Dreama Alderman said she had never seen a situation like this since she had been working with the organization.
“I’ve been volunteering for years, for so many years, and they have had cases like this, but none like this one,” Alderman said. “This is the biggest.”
McIntyre said he is thankful for the support from the community with the donations and help at the shelter.
“I have to say the community has been extremely supportive of everything that we have been doing,” McIntire said. “Yesterday, we sent out a post fairly quickly that we needed metal crates. We knew, with the number of dogs increasing, it seemed like about every 30 minutes the number got higher and higher because initially we thought we were talking about 30 dogs.”
The Parkersburg Police Department has been notified of the situation.
The staff at the humane society are now in the process of taking care of the newly arrived dogs at the shelter.
“They’re all here at the shelter right now, while some are in foster homes,” Tannous said. “Right now, we’re just in the process of getting them cleaned up, getting them vaccinated, and their nails trimmed. That’s what we’re working with.”
Certain items are still needed to help with the influx of the dogs, staff said. For more information about the Humane Society of Parkersburg and to help support their efforts, visit their website.
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