Hoarder Around the Corner

Merlin arrives at Veterinary Associates.

A few days ago Hope Animal Sanctuary (HAS) received a call from a woman in Grenada, MS who was concerned for the welfare of her sister, her sister's family, and their dogs. The woman's sister has been known for breeding poodles for years and doing a particularly poor job of caring for the dogs. The woman said it had been five years since she'd been invited into her sister's home and the family, including two adult disabled sons who lived at home, was getting older and frail.

The woman made arrangements with her sister to allow HAS to take some of her dogs. Since HAS was full, Doll arranged for Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP) in Houston, TX to take the first six dogs.

Doll reports that when she arrived at the home the woman was waiting out front and dogs she wanted HAS to take were penned in the driveway. She clearly didn't want Doll anywhere near the house or the remaining dogs.

Doll said, "I've rescued animals from many filthy houses, sheds and even vehicles and I'm pretty adept at meeting just about any situation, but I can honestly say the six dogs I picked up this morning stunk so badly it was revolting. There’s no way they didn’t come straight out of a urine and feces filled environment."

These first six dogs went immediately to visit Dr. Reece at Veterinary Associates for an initial check-up and bath and are now on their way to CAP in Houston, where they'll receive more extensive care and eventually be made available for adoption.

Doll and Dr. Abernathy of Veterinary Associates will work on getting the remaining dogs, estimated to be around ten, released and into the vet for care and then on to CAP for adoption.

We'll keep you updated.

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Sabra

Sabra enjoying her favorite treat - watermelon.

Sabra and her sister Nanny came to us from a neglect situation nearly 13 years ago. As a result of their early years, neither much liked attention and preferred to be on her own. Unless, however, you were offering them watermelon or banana, for either of those they'd drop their loner personas and perk right up.

After Nanny's death 5 years ago, we moved Sabra to a new area with lush vegetation and no little pigs to steal her food, no horses to share her bedroom with, and all the vines and leaves she could eat. She was thrilled.

Yesterday, William found her lying by the fence where she'd been eating. We don't know if the heat we've been experiencing played a role in her death, but she was an old girl and goats just don't live to be very old. Sabra had a wonderful, long life and there were no signs of struggle at the end.

She will be greatly missed and will leave a big void at the Sanctuary.

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