PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Humane Society is working to care for and re-home 146 dogs after they were removed from a local residence.
“I would like to say, I don’t believe it was at all intentional,” Gary McIntyre, executive director of the shelter, said. “It’s just unfortunate that none of the animals were spayed or neutered.”
McIntyre said humane officers handle complaints and investigate any cases of potential cruelty, neglect, abuse or just to do welfare checks. He said two officers responded to a request for a check at a residence near City Park. He said the officer initially believed there might have been 30-40 animals in the household and requested backup to help transport them to the shelter.
“So we sent a couple of staff, and the van, and loaded up a bunch of crates, thinking, we’re going to get 30 dogs in,” McIntyre said. “Shortly after the staff got there, the 30 became 40. The 40 went to 50, and it kept going up to 60. And finally, by the end of the night, when the last load got here at almost 7 (p.m.), there were 146.”
McIntyre said the ages of the dogs ranged from a few days old to around 10 years of age. He said many of the dogs appeared to have never been outside the home, as they seemed disoriented when they were brought out into daylight. He said the shelter did not find any serious medical conditions among the dogs initially, but they did treat them for parasites and administer their initial vaccinations. He also said the potential for outbreaks of parvovirus and kennel cough was a concern, as the dogs had not been exposed to other animals and could quickly spread illness in the shelter environment, but no signs of the diseases were found.
“They’ve gotten their first set of vaccinations, and then, as long as they’re here, we’ll continue to follow up with the subsequent boosters,” McIntyre said.
He said the shelter is working with its partners in Dayton to take some of the dogs, including some pregnant females, to help alleviate the burden. He said they also have a rescue partner in Pittsburgh that has a “rescue ranch” that is interested in taking some of the dogs. He said the goal is to find placement for as many of the dogs as possible with other shelters and rescue organizations, as the HSOP does not have the capacity to adopt out all 146 dogs on its own.
In the aftermath, the Parkersburg community has also rallied to support the HSOP, donating hundreds of supplies like food, blankets, and cleaning products within 24 hours.
“I have to just say, the community of Parkersburg, the entire Mid-Ohio Valley, has brought cash, sent cash on our website. We have food out front. We actually have so much in donations that we now need some place to store it,” McIntyre said. “Our entire courtyard is filled with food and blankets and towels and water and everything. Just to think, that in less than 24 hours, we’ve gotten all of that, and it’s going to help us take care of these animals, and get them into a home, and then, certainly, still going to be lasting longer than that.”
McIntyre emphasized the importance of spaying and neutering pets to prevent similar situations in the future.
“It definitely is an argument for spay and neuter,” McIntyre said. “Because if you only had a couple of dogs and you spayed or neutered them, you would not have this situation.”
The HSOP has been relying heavily on volunteers to help care for the dogs, including walking them, doing laundry, and assisting with other tasks. McIntyre said they are holding a volunteer training session on Saturday to onboard new volunteers to help with the increased workload and anyone interested can fill out an application on the HSOP website.
“Everybody is just really stepping up, and it’s humbling,” McIntyre said.
