GR group rescues dogs that were allegedly abandoned in Honduras
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — After a West Michigan woman allegedly abandoned hundreds of animals at a rescue she started in Honduras, Grand Rapids-based Michele’s Rescue says it is stepping up to help.
Michele’s Rescue is calling its mission Hope for Honduras. According to the rescue, hundreds of dogs, cats, horses and chickens were left in Honduras by a West Michigan woman who started her own organization a few years ago.
“The amount of dogs that are here, the amount of things that I am seeing, is really hard to swallow,” Michele Schaut, founder of Michele’s Rescue, said in a video posted to the rescue’s Facebook page while in Honduras. “We need to get these guys out of here.”
When volunteers with Michele’s Rescue heard about what was happening in Roatan, a small island located in Honduras, they said they felt they had no choice but to help.
“We had become involved and heard about this rescue in Honduras that had failed,” Theresa Ockaskis, a volunteer with Michele’s Rescue, said. “There were animals that were left there to die and abandoned, that were starving.”
Michele’s Rescue says it is rescuing dogs that were abandoned in Honduras. (Courtesy Michele’s Rescue) Michele’s Rescue says it is rescuing dogs that were abandoned in Honduras. (Courtesy Michele’s Rescue) Michele’s Rescue says it is rescuing dogs that were abandoned in Honduras. (Courtesy Michele’s Rescue)
Back in December, volunteers flew out to Honduras to assess the situation. Originally, they planned on taking 10 dogs.
“When we walked into the door, it turned to 20, and then it turned to 29, and then it turned to 31,” Ockaskis said. “We just knew we had to do something.”
When they arrived, they said the conditions the dogs were living in were far worse than they ever could’ve imagined.
“They were crammed into small pens. The majority of all the floors were dirt. Our toes were stinging from the feces, the urine that was in the dirt,” Ockaskis said. “The posts of these enclosures were being chewed through because the dogs didn’t have toys and they were aggravated.”
Luckily, many of the animals, including the chickens and horses, were rescued. The cats were also saved by a rescue called Flight Angels of Roatan.
When it comes to the next steps, Michele’s Rescue says its goal is to get all 31 dogs to the United States by late January. In order to accomplish that, the rescue needs donations to help pay for vaccinations required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and foster families.
“Where we need help is that when these animals arrive here, we’re going to put them all into foster homes, so we can fully assess what they need,” Ockaskis said. “A lot of these animals are going to be emotionally broken. It’s going to take time.”
News 8 reached out to the woman who started the rescue in Honduras but did not hear back. Her ex-husband provided a statement, saying that all the decisions were made by his now ex-wife and he was appalled when he learned about the animals’ conditions.
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