Meet the foster family that took in rescue LMAS dog Dia

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Within a day, a dog on the brink of death rescued by Louisville Metro Animal Services has found a foster home.

Monday, LMAS posted online about the rescue of a pitbull-mix named Dia. Animal control found her starving and without shelter, fenced into a yard at a Louisville home. Her history is unknown, but the neglect was obvious, as ribs poked through her coat and sores covered her whole body.

While the shelter is overwhelmed with pets in need of a home, they placed an urgent call for a foster family who could give Dia the care and attention she needed to be nursed back to health.

Within hours, LMAS became overwhelmed with an outpouring of support online, and less than 24 hours later, Dia was headed out of the shelter and into the Timmons’ family home.

“We’ll be working on getting some weight on her and getting her skin condition back where it needs to be,” said Ashley Timmons. “[We’ll] give her a safe place to kind of figure out what her personality is and then get her on the mend and ready for adoption.”

Timmons is not a stranger to fostering pets through LMAS. She currently has two other fosters under her care, as well as several other dogs she has adopted herself.

Unfortunately, families like Timmons’ are in short supply. LMAS shelters have been near or at capacity for months. On Sept. 27, LMAS recorded 954 pets under their care, with only 10 spots open in their kennels.

Many of the dogs under their care have been surrendered or rescued from situations like Dia’s.

LMAS cited Dia’s owner with cruelty charges, which could carry serious consequences under a new Kentucky law. This year, the state passed Ethan’s law, named after Ethan the dog who was rescued in 2021 in a condition much like Dia’s. The law expands the definitions under animal abuse laws and enhances violations to a Class D felony on each offense.

For Dia’s owner, those charges are in prosecutors’ hands. Now, charges are the least of Dia’s problems as she begins to heal from the inside out.

“I’m hopeful. She’s very alert. She’s friendly. She doesn’t seem fearful, which is nice,” said Timmons. “We just play it by ear and go day-by-day and get a good read on what she needs, both physically and emotionally.”

Dia now has a warm home to sleep inside and a big yard to play in whenever she wants. Timmons’ priority is to get her back to a healthy weight and, over time, she will begin to socialize her with the other dogs in the home.

It could be at least six weeks until Dia reaches a healthy point making her eligible for adoption, but it will likely be longer.

“It’s a slow and steady process,” said Timmons. “I’d love to see if we could get her there right before Christmas and maybe get her in a home for Christmas.”

Visit LMAS for more information on how to foster or adopt.

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