Dozens of neglected dogs were rescued from horrendous living conditions recently in northwestern Tennessee. 77 pups total were seized from a property that was quite literally rotting.
Neglected Dogs Living in Squalor
The Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, was called upon, in partnership with the Dyer City Police Department, to rescue the dogs. The animals seized there were mostly small and medium-sized fur babies who ranged in age from a few weeks old to seniors. Some pups were pregnant and others were suffering from dementia.
The nonprofit deemed the rescue mission “Operation Holiday Heartbreak,” and called the situation a “large and urgent cruelty case” in a Facebook post. It went on to say that the property owners moved but left the dogs in the home, returning only to feed them. The canines suffered from overcrowding, untreated injuries, bite wounds, fur loss, infections, inflammation, dental disease, and “some of the worst ammonia levels ARC has recorded to date.”
The home was deemed structurally unsound, with crumbling walls and rooms littered with chewed-out furniture. Apparently, one could smell the house from across the street.
In another Facebook post, ARC shared that “the house was so destroyed and in such a state of disrepair inside that ARC’s Field Team had to carefully search the furniture, walls, and floors for survivors using thermal imaging.”
Four dogs were found hiding in the floorboards between the basement and the main floor. The Fire Department had to remove sections of the floor in order to free them.
Cruel and Unusual
It appears the dogs may have been victims of either hoarding or a puppy mill.
“This is a cruelty case,” the ARC stated. “The animals have been seized and ARC is documenting the cruelties and creating evidence packets, with all animals headed to ARC’s Rescue Center outside Nashville for urgent care.”
ARC is asking for donations to help support this and other rescue missions. You can contribute to their cause on the Operation Holiday Heartbreak page here.
