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Humane society offers adoption discount to make room for 140-plus dog rescue
The Fairfield Area Humane Society is helping a Vinton County widow with more than 100 dogs on her property.
Humane society offers adoption discount to make room for 140-plus dog rescue The Fairfield Area Humane Society is helping a Vinton County widow with more than 100 dogs on her property. Check out this story on lancastereaglegazette.com: https://ohne.ws/2uAVkXr
Spencer Remoquillo, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette Published 2:57 p.m. ET July 19, 2018 | Updated 8:47 a.m. ET July 24, 2018
Four of the 44 dogs that have been rescued from a home in Vinton County huddle together Thursday, July 19, 2018, at the Fairfield Area Humane Society in Lancaster. The home owner had more than 140 dogs on her property.(Photo: Matthew Berry/Eagle-Gazette)Buy Photo
LANCASTER — When the Fairfield Area Humane Society got a call from a rescue group about a woman in Vinton County who needed help, the organization expected to find homes for a few dozen dogs.
That number, Executive Director Corey Schoonover said, was highly underestimated.
"We've taken 44 total and there's at least 100 left at the house," he said, explaining that the dogs were not living in dangerous, filthy conditions so they could take the dogs in smaller groups.
Unlike other pet hoarding situations, Schoonover said it wasn't a puppy mill and the owner wasn't neglectful. The majority of them were living in an outside kennel with food and water.
The dog rescue team was called in after the woman's husband died in May and knew she needed help. The home is in a remote area where people often dump their dogs and the couple would take them in. From there, he said they multiplied.
"This lady was taking care of the dogs ... It's one of those good deeds gone wrong," he said. "I don't think there was much spaying and neutering going on."
Two of the 44 dogs that have been rescued from a home in Vinton County lay in a kennel Thursday, July 19, 2018, at the Fairfield Area Humane Society in Lancaster. The home owner had more than 140 dogs on her property. (Photo: Matthew Berry/Eagle-Gazette)
Schoonover said the humane society took great care in establishing a relationship with the owner before they were allowed to take possession of the dogs. To strengthen that relationship, he said he promised the humane society would find homes for them and not transfer them to other rescue groups, despite many groups reaching out to assist.
To find adoptive homes quickly, the humane society is offering a discount, cutting the adoption rate in half to $80.
On Wednesday, there were 17 pet adoptions alone. By Thursday morning, there were still a few dogs left with more to come.
So far, the humane society has taken two groups of dogs, and by Thursday morning, had found homes for most of them. Schoonover said they'll likely go back to the home to get more on Monday.
"We'll get them out of there as fast as we can get them home," he said.
In the meantime, the humane society is providing food for the dogs left at the owner's home to help.
Anyone willing to help the organization can send monetary donations to offset lowering the cost for adoptions, food, vaccinations and spay/neutering procedures.
For more information on donating or adopting pets, visit the humane society's website at fairhumane.org.
sremoquill@gannett.com
Twitter: @SpencerRemo
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