Humane Society dealing with influx of animals

The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri has been more active than usual in the Bootheel over the past few weeks. The organization rescued 157 neglected dogs in Dunklin County on March 14 and returned last week to assist the rescue effort headed by the Caruthersville Animal Shelter in the wake of the tornado.

Debbie Hill, director of rescue and investigation, was involved in both efforts and said rescuing animals in a disaster situation calls for patience and persistence. "People who haven't done this before think that after you drive through the area and treated a couple animals, 'OK now we're done,'" she said. "Well, no, that's just the first run-through. We've still got to do two or three more sweeps to make sure we get all the animals."

The seven-person rescue team returned to headquarters in St. Louis with three cats, 19 dogs, a squirrel and a parakeet from Caruthersville. The team only removed animals that exceeded the local shelter's capacity.

When found, the animals are often disoriented and act either overly aggressive or overly fearful. Hill said while dogs will generally seek their homes, cats usually find a place to hide from the chaos.

Humane Society officials traveled to Caruthersville on April 3 and afterward visited Dyer and Lake counties in Tennessee before returning to St. Louis April 6. The team drove a 26-foot climate-controlled vehicle fitted with stainless steel cages capable of housing between 50 and 100 animals. The vehicle also doubles as a triage location and temporary shelter.

The group included a trained veterinary technician, who was needed because some of the dogs had injuries ranging from debris lodged in the eye to serious head wounds.

Hill said the team worked quickly out of necessity. "It's usually about a week before they want to bring the bulldozers in," she said. To help displaced owners, they distributed 2,000 pounds of pet food.

The Caruthersville Animal Shelter is currently at its capacity, housing 60 dogs and 10 cats. A representative said owners have claimed approximately half of these pets.

Dunklin dogs

Neglected dogs found in Dunklin County are reportedly still recovering, three weeks after being removed from the home of a pet hoarder in Senath.

While malnutrition was the biggest initial problem, the dogs are suffering now principally from mange mites, which are harder to eradicate.

There are signs of promise, say officials. "We've all been really happy to see some of these animals sprout little hairs," said Hill. "It's kind of like in springtime when that first green sprout comes up. It's a good sign."

Two of the females gave birth recently, producing a combined litter of 19 healthy puppies.

Hill said the dogs are at varying levels of recovery, with some almost ready for adoption and others still suffering from the after-effects of negligent treatment. Even those dogs deemed physically fit enough for the mandatory spaying and neutering might not be temperamentally prepared to become house pets.

"These dogs were not used to being around lots of people or being lap dogs, so we've got to get them used to not just us, but different people and strangers that might come in a house where they will be adopted," said Hill. "It would be very easy for us if all they needed was to recover from the physical ailments."

Hill said the condition of animal hoarding is not common, but does occur from time to time in people that display other compulsive behaviors. She said a red flag of a hoarder is someone known for adopting or keeping a lot of pets who is very secretive and unwilling to let people inside his or her home.

"These people generally don't want outsiders around, they may not even allow family to come inside the home," said Hill. "They'll say, 'Oh, it's a mess," or 'The AC went out,' or even one we heard recently was a dog was trained to attack on a trigger word that's a very common word so it wouldn't be safe. But they've always got some excuse."

Caring for this many animals has already proved to be expensive for the Humane Society. More than 90 percent of the animals rescued from both locations tested positive for heartworms. Treatment is costly and hard on the body.

"It's strenuous for the animals, and it's strenuous for our funding," said Hill.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245