Abandonment Issues

Sleepy surprise at the barn.

We're located in a very rural part of Mississippi and don't publicize our location. Of course, because we've been in this same location for the last 16 years, most everyone knows where we are. Still we try to maintain a low profile to minimize random animal drop-offs. I say minimize because without fail several times a month we have animals show up that have either been tossed over our fence or abandoned somewhere in the immediate area.

The best case scenario with animals abandoned in the vicinity of Hope Sanctuary is they wander up and we take them in, hoping to get them on a future transport. The worst case is they wander off in another direction and never make it in. We've had more heartbreaking cases than we care to recount over the years of animals abandoned nearby. Sometimes even with animals that wander in to Hope Sanctuary, there's an unhappy ending. A recent example comes to mind of a litter of kittens that someone dumped. A couple of the kittens, maybe 4 weeks old, wandered into runs where dogs were not expecting them, resulting in the death of those kittens before we could help them. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Elizabeth comforts Lotus.

Of course the other problem with someone just abandoning an animal here is we aren't expecting that animal and we have to scramble to find a place for them. This time of the year it's particularly difficult because we are always full, usually with litters of puppies and kittens which demand most of our time.

Still very skittish, but coming around.

This past week, we had a couple of new dogs show up one morning. Obviously abandoned, clearly neglected and malnourished, Jasmine and Lotus are just as sweet as they can be. Of course we're at capacity, so for now they'll stay at the barn where we first discovered them, but we'll get them medical treatment, spayed and they will be well fed, loved and cared for. They've already won over our hearts.

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Winona, MS Pound Rescue

Lauren with Hendrix and Joplin who were
rescued from the Winona, MS Pound.

A friend of Lauren’s called her to report that the Winona Pound was over-crowded and a paralyzed dog was dragging herself through the waste in her run. Lauren headed straight for the Pound to check it out. Upon arriving, Lauren called me and confirmed the conditions - she was clearly very upset. It was evening and Charlie, the closest thing Winona has to an Animal Control Officer, was off duty, so it would be the next morning before we could do anything. The next morning we headed straight for the pound after caring for our pups.

Charlie, the Animal Control Officer
at the Pound, with Joplin and Crosby.

We've worked with the Charlie for several years and have helped inspire the formation of a humane society that’s planning fundraisers to build a proper shelter. In the meantime, dogs are impounded in the deplorable conditions of the open-air kennel. Faucets run continuously, keeping the cement runs wet. Large and small dogs are crowded together. While county jail inmates are deployed to clean the pens, the number of dogs and infrequency of cleaning means the dogs are surrounded constantly by feces and wasted food. There’s only one sleeping compartment for each run, which are made from sections of road culvert and are not large enough to accommodate multiple dogs. Dogs aren’t inoculated or wormed, nor do they receive medical attention, even those beyond recovery.

Doll removing Belle from the Pound and some of Belle's injuries.

On this morning we found a female dog, Belle, who had obviously been hit by a car. Her back end was paralyzed and had open, untreated wounds from the impact. Charlie confirmed that she had been there several days in this condition. We also found a momma dog with a litter of puppies, a single puppy in another run and several more adults. All of whom we took. We only left two dogs that were in together and were clearly well cared for, handsome dogs. We contacted the editor of the Winona Times, who is also president of the humane society. I asked her to get a story in the paper featuring these dogs on how to find your missing dog. We'll check back in to make sure these dogs are looked after and don't fall through the cracks.

Unfortunately, Belle was confirmed by the vet to be hopelessly paralyzed and suffered internal injuries that she would not recover from. Charlie asked that she be euthanized, and without hope for her recovery we had no other choice. The other dogs will be altered tomorrow and have been wormed and given their shots.

We realize we can't save them all, but we always do our absolute best and at least this group is not suffering any longer at the Winona Pound.

Doll cradles Tammy before placing her
in the van for the trip to Project Hope.

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