Humane society: 'What we found was horrific' - 14 animals seized from Danwood Road home.
Humane agents didn't know what to expect when city police called them to a condemned residence on Danwood Road late Wednesday morning.
"The owners were going to jail," said Linda Chambers, executive director of the Humane Society of Richland County. "We didn't have anything to do with that."
Chambers was told there would be "several dogs" left behind.
"We had no clue about the conditions of the dogs," she said.
Chambers posted about the conditions on the humane society's Facebook page.
"What we found was horrific," she wrote. "We seized 14 animals — eight adult dogs, three puppies and three cats. Every one of them were severely emaciated, malnourished and dehydrated.
Dogs likely were fighting over food
"Every one of the dogs has bleeding lesions on their faces and bodies, likely due to fighting over food (and lack thereof). The dogs have serious skin conditions and severe flea infestation. Some of the dogs do not even know how to walk on a leash."
Chambers said one dog appeared to be in better shape than the others. She guessed it was the alpha dog and got most of whatever food was available.
It was too late for one dog and a cat. They had died.
"The conditions were inhumane, unlivable, and the stench of urine, feces and death literally took our breath away. Even with masks on, the stench was ungodly," Chambers posted on Facebook.
She elaborated in an interview with the News Journal.
"It was wall-to-wall feces," Chambers said. "The (smell of) urine was burning our eyes. We had to go outside and take gulps of fresh air. The thing that's really sobering is people were living in this house."
Chambers said she is "cautiously optimistic" the dogs will survive.
"We're introducing food slowly," she said. "We don't want them to feel sick."
She added the dogs had two breakfasts on Thursday morning. They will not be available for adoption "for quite some time."
"We have the 14 animals in our care, but they are not out of the woods. When dogs are this far gone, it's touch and go because they've obviously been starved," Chambers posted on Facebook.
Trio of cats in better condition than dogs
The three cats were in better shape because they were outside, though Chambers said all were infested with fleas.
As of noon Thursday, people had donated $4,630 to the animals' care, surpassing the humane society's goal of $4,000 by the weekend.
"The more money we raise, it's like a rainy day fund. There's never a shortage of need," Chambers said.
A PayPal link is on the website here at adoptourstrays.com.
Other needs include high-fat cottage cheese, newspapers and Purina puppy chow. The address is 3025 Park Avenue West, Ontario. The Amazon wish list can be found at a.co/8jxPc4y.
Chambers said the humane society will be filing neglect charges. Police arrested a 68-year-old woman on an unrelated warrant.
At least for Thursday, the humane society was closed. Chambers asked people to call ahead at 419-774-4795.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
Twitter: @MarkCau32059251
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Humane Society of Richland County seizes14 animals from Mansfield home
