Volunteers try to save dozens of dogs left in Harney County after Oregon Humane Society rescue
December 23, 2009, 7:36PM
Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian
One of the 90 dogs rescued from Harney County rests at the Oregon Humane Society last week. The animals rescued from eastern Oregon and from the Tillamook area have been adopted at a record pace. The saga of the Harney County dogs is far from over.
The
Oregon Humane Societyrounded up almost 90 dogs earlier this month, but the agency left dozens that were stuck outside on private property about 20 miles south of Burns.
More than 100 cats taken from Madras rescue
Sandra Ballard admits she became overwhelmed by caring for dozens of cats abandoned in Jefferson County.
To read the full story, click
here.
"We rescued every dog that we thought was not going to be a dangerous feral dog," said David Lytle, spokesman for OHS. "Some were too dangerous or were just uncatchable."
But a Long Beach, Wash., woman who grew up in Harney County hopes to save many more. On Wednesday, Melanie Epping, founder of
Harney County Save a Stray, headed to the site with her husband to rescue more dogs.
Those that are not rounded up could be shot, said Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup: "They'll probably be put down one way or another. They're chasing livestock and game animals out there."
Epping said that after the humane society rescue, at least 60 dogs and puppies were left on the property where Anita Darlene Anderson, 55 and her husband, Ronald Steven Anderson, 43, live. The couple, who are longtime renters on the property, were arrested this month by the Harney County Sheriff's Office on suspicion of animal neglect.
Some of the dogs, mostly border collie, Australian shepherd and Shiba Ina mixes, were left chained outside. Others ran wild. Some were cooped up in an uncovered pen next to a trailer. A few dogs found shelter by digging a hole under planks on the ground.
The dogs fed on carcasses and meat scraps that the couple picked up from a local meat processing plant. Cattle carcasses and bones litter the desolate piece of land. "It's difficult to describe how sad it is," Epping said. The Andersons are under a release agreement to help round up the dogs and feed them properly, Glerup said.
Safeway donated about 3 tons of dry dog food. "They just put aside bags that were broken," Glerup said. Epping and her husband drove to the property on Wednesday and put 23 dogs, including six puppies, in dog kennels and hauled them to Salem. "All of the ones that we handled today were fine," Epping said. "We just want to save as many as we can."
A rescue rendezvous was planned in a Lowe's parking lot in Salem with representatives from
Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene,
Heartland Humane Society in Corvallis and
Pet Adoption Network in Philomath. Those organizations agreed to take several dogs, with Coopers' Boarding Kennel in Amity taking the puppies, Epping said.
The groups will examine the dogs, provide medical treatment as necessary and ensure that they are spayed and neutered before putting them up for adoption. Epping also found a woman in Longview, Wash., to foster a few dogs.
On Saturday, she will head back the property in Harney County to meet officials from the Meridian Valley Humane Society from Meridian, Idaho, which will take more dogs.
Epping said
Save a Stray is looking for volunteers to help catch, transport, foster, socialize, and adopt the dogs.
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Lynne Terry
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/rescue_workers_try_to_save_som.html
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Neglected Dogs Brought to Greenhill Humane Society
By: Stacia Kalinoski
EUGENE, Ore. -- In one of the worst animal neglect cases in state history, nearly 150 dogs were seized in Harney County earlier this month. Those dogs have gradually made their way into shelters around the state. And now, four of them have arrived at Greenhill Humane Society in West Eugene.
The four dogs are among nearly 90 others who were rescued by Harney County Save A Stray and the Oregon Humane Society, but Harney County Save A Stray Rescuer Melanie Epping said there are at least 60 dogs still on the property, a rural farm in Princeton.
Epping said at least 20 are puppies, so rescuers are giving them priority. Butt she said many of the older dogs are just too wild, and may not be able to be saved. Even the ones Greenhill took in, still need some work.
Rita the dog has nothing but food on her mind. Real dog food. The two-year-old has been living off cattle carcasses her entire life. "She definetely loves her treats," Greenhill Humane Society Kennel Supervisor Dustin Vissering said. Rita's the only one Vissering can take outside to play.
The other three are still terrifed of human interaction, after living under wooden planks or chained to farm equipment. "I would imagine the dogs, from what we've seen, are mostly unaltered, so there was probably a lot of reproducing going on," Vissering said.
Video courtesy of the Oregon Humane Society captures the nearly 150 dogs, living in sub-freezing temperatures in a high-desert area. The sight leaves dog lovers like one couple, heartbroken. "They were just out there in the snow. And i felt so sorry for them." The Cottage Grove woman has anxiously followed the dogs' progress. She and her husband even visited the OHS last week to see if any of the neglected collies were available for adoption. "We were a little sad that so many got adopted, but happy that so being so close to Christmas, they found homes."
Now Vissering is trying to get these four ready for adoption. We just want to place these dogs where we can, so we can work with them and get them the best care that we can. Socialization is their main goal as they attempt to get at least two of the dogs ready for adoption by Tuesday.
But Epping believes the neglect has been going on for at least five years, making socialization nearly impossible for some of the older breeds.
Source:
http://kezi.com/news/local/157029
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Amity kennel rescues dogs
Sun, 12/27/2009 - 1:27 pm
Five puppies newly arrived at Coopers’ Boarding Kennel in Amity have known people only for a few hours, but already they’re figuring out that these initially frightening creatures have gentle hands, loving voices, food and warmth.
For two adult dogs, the transition will be harder. All seven animals were rescued Wednesday from a rural Harney County property in eastern Oregon.
Earlier this month, the Oregon Humane Society rescued more than 70 dogs, but some 60 or more remained on the property, where they were receiving food, but little or no care. Most had little shelter from the bitter winter weather.
Harney County lacks the resources to take the animals in and care for them.
Deputies were called to the property about 20 miles east of Burns by county social workers who were investigating an unrelated complaint.
Three people are facing animal neglect charges: Anita Anderson, 55; Ronald Anderson, 43; and Kathlean Fuchs-Goyogana, 34. Both the Andersons and Fuchs-Goyogana live in mobile homes on the property, the sheriff said. The Andersons are under a release agreement to help round up the dogs and feed them properly, Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup said. Some of the dogs were living underground in holes covered with planks, while others were chained to farm equipment with little or no shelter, officials said.
On Wednesday, Melanie Epping of the rescue group Harney County Save a Stray, who has been trying to find shelters for the remaining animals, drove a U-haul trailer to the property where she succeeded in capturing 23 dogs, including six puppies. She loaded them into crates in the trailer and drove to Salem, to distribute them among several shelters that had agreed to help.
Another 40 animals remain on the property, and Epping is continuing to search for places able to take them in. She found a woman in Longview, Wash., to foster a few dogs and said the Meridian Valley Humane Society from Meridian, Idaho will take some more dogs on Saturday.
The 20 rescued dogs were divided among Joan Cooper, owner of Coopers’ Boarding Kennel, and representatives from Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, Heartland Humane Society in Corvallis, Willamette Humane Society in Salem, and Pet Adoption Network, a Philomath-based rescue group.
Wednesday evening after arriving home from Salem, Cooper’s adult daughter, Patricia Tawney, sat on the floor of one of the runs holding a lapful of puppies, all of them shaking in fear of the strange new surroundings, and the barking of boarding dogs in the adjacent runs. At just 4 weeks old, the puppies are new to the world as well as to people. As they gradually calmed down, they began climbing down to lap from shallow pans of food, explore their surroundings, and find places to relieve themselves.
Tawney’s daughter, Elizabeth, cuddled a frightened 2-month-old puppy that was also from the rescue group.
Cooper is working with Linda Watkins of the Pet Adoption Network, and agreed to take in some of the animals, provide them with medical care and socialize them in preparation for adoption. “I’ve worked with Linda Watkins before and taken care of some of her rescue dogs,” Cooper said. “We try to help when we can. It’s really hard to find foster homes for them, and the right adoptive homes.”
The puppies won’t be ready to leave her facility for another two weeks, she said, but prospective owners are welcome to visit and help get them used to humans. “The sooner we can get adoptive families to help socialize and adopt them, the more dogs we can rescue,” Tawney said.
They also hope to adopt out the two adult animals, whom they have named Pearl and Cooper, the latter in honor of Cooper’s late husband. That, however, may be a longer-term process. Both are frightened of people. Pearl appears to be pregnant, and Cooper has a badly injured paw that healed poorly.
“My husband just passed away last week,” Cooper said. “He was a very tough, loving man. ... I thought, this dog has to have a tough, loving name, he’s got a long way to go.”
Watkins said that any help people can provide will be welcome. “Mostly what works out really well are donations of gift cards to places like Wilco, BiMart, Petco — places that sell pet supplies ... gift certificates to something like Valley Feed,” she said. “What we’re going to need is mostly dog food, training treats, toys. Cash donations, too. All the dogs have to be spayed, neutered, we have to give them all their shots, worming, all of that kind of stuff.”
To offer donations, go to the Pet Adoption Network website
www.pan.petfinder.org. For information about adopting or helping with the Amity animals, call Coopers’ Boarding Kennel at 503-835-3647. In addition, Watkins said, Epping is looking for volunteers to help capture, transport, foster, socialize, and adopt a dog. Animals that cannot be captured and placed may be shot by county authorities, she said. Call Melanie Epping at 541-589-1104 or visit the website,
www.harneycountysaveastray.com.
Donations of food, supplies or money can be made to the individual shelters taking the dogs. Financial donations also may be sent to the Save a Stray account at US Bank or mailed to HCSAS; PO Box 403; Burns, OR 97720.
Source:
http://www.newsregister.com/article/42709-amity+kennel+rescues+dogs
View full size THOMAS BOYD/ Tucker, a Chihuahua mix whose mother was rescued from a puppy mill, and owner Terri Rise attend a March 30 rally at the state Capitol in Salem in support of House Bill 2470. The law, which takes effect Friday, aims to stop puppy mills, in the words of demonstrators' signs. Anyone exploiting, neglecting or abusing animals will have an even harder time in Oregon come Friday. 
