“Most were so severely matted that their skin was red from the matts pulling on their skin,” said Jody Maddock, director of Adopt-A-Pet in Fenton when describing the 17 dogs they took in after they were rescued from a hoarding situation.
On Monday, Oct. 14, a Genesee County Animal Control representative reached out to the shelter about the dogs.
“They needed to be processed by the Genesee County Animal Control’s veterinarian to get forensic data on each animal. I walked through on Monday to determine what was going to be the most helpful for the staff and the dogs,” Maddock said.
They received the dogs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. They had also taken in four dogs from GCAC the Friday before and then took another severely matted senior dog on Friday, Oct. 18 from the harding situation. A few other dogs are taken to other rescue organizations.
“Most had significant dental disease that still needs to be addressed. Many had scalding to their skin from sitting/living in their own urine and feces. Many were emaciated, anemic and had other problems with their bloodwork,” Maddock said.
Sprout is the worst case. When she was brought to the shelter, she could barely stand.
“One, Sprout, is the most emaciated we have seen and has a significant heart murmur and is waiting to see a specialist. Sprout could barely stand up at first due to severe muscle atrophy and urine scald on her feet. Sprout was 4.7lbs when she first came in and is now 6.8lbs,” Maddock said.
On Oct. 17, Adopt-A-Pet posted on Facebook the following statement:
“We have taken on several little lives who need a lot of help. We are helping out with a hoarding case from Genesee County. Many of these dogs are in horrible shape – skin and bones (literally), urine and fecal burns on their feet, tails and legs from living in their own waste, nails so long they were grown into their pads and some of the worst matting we’ve seen. Many will need significant vet care, caloric monitoring and plain old TLC.”
Staff had to completely shave several of the dogs because the matts were so close to their skin or they had sores or cuts.
“We’re not focusing on their past – we’re focusing on their bright future they will now have. I’m incredibly humbled by our staff who have stayed late or come back late to get them taken care of, our veterinarian who came in on her day off to help as many as she could and our fosters who have stepped up to care for them knowing they are not trained in any sense,” according to the statement.
Adopt-A-Pet is asking people to donate to help with the dogs’ medical care. Those interested in helping can venmo @aap2022, call the center to donate with a card at 810-629-0723 or go to adoptapetfenton.com and click donate now. People can also mail a check to 13575 N Fenton Rd, Fenton, MI 48430 and add to the letter, “for hoarding dogs’ care.”
