Emergency Animal Rescue Needed in Ohio -- Can You Help?

Mods, I was conflicted about whether to post this on GD so I will leave it to your discretion whether this thread stays or is locked. But this is time sensitive and dogs will die in they are not rescued TODAY.

DUers -- If you can help or have friends in Ohio who can, please get on the phone TODAY! There is no time to lose. Please spread the word.

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/articles/2007/02/0 ...
Pound forced to close
Sewage break shuts down Adams County Dog Pound

BY RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY
PDT Staff Writer
Thursday, February 8, 2007 10:41 PM EST

The Adams County Dog Pound was forced to close this week following a sewage line break inside the building that left nearly 100 dogs in danger of toxic sewer waste exposure.

According to Mary Davis, of the Adams County Dog Pound, the sewage lines backed up on Saturday, and they began moving dogs out of the facility to other locations after the problem escalated on Sunday. Dogs were taken as far as Batavia, and some were even brought to Sierra's Haven and Shawnee Animal Clinic in Scioto County.

Davis said three dogs have died in the incident, and there are still about 40 dogs remaining at the pound, as they frantically search for places to send them. Dogs which cannot be placed will need to be euthanized, she said....

(snipping)

Animals not placed will need to be put to sleep by gas, because there's no one available with the training or authority to perform a lethal injection, Davis said, adding that as many as 10 dogs could be put to sleep today.

Anyone interested in adopting a pet, or offering foster care for pets stranded from Adams County, can call either Adams County Dog Pound at (937) 544-2431, Shawnee Animal Clinic at (740) 353-5758, or Sierra's Haven at (740) 353-5100.

Here's a map of Adams County for those who need to know: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist9/Map_Adams.htm

Edited to add:
If the link above doesn't work for you, try the link to the Portsmouth Daily Times' front page story: http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/

Why?

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com

It's a front page story of the Portsmouth Daily Times.

Adams County is a very rural area. It is also one of the poorest counties in the state, so facilities for recued/abandoned animals are stressed. Right now dogs are being transported to rescue familities in Scioto County (Portsmouth area) to the east and as far away as Batavia (Cincinnati area) to the west. Anyone involved in rescue in this area could be of tremendous help! I don't think the rescue haven in Portsmouth can take any more.

I couldn't believe that people still do this stuff
www.ohiospca.org/adamscounty.htm

Part of the problem is poverty. Adams County has consistently ranked 88th in median family income among all Ohio counties. Guess how many counties there are in Ohio? Yep, 88. When people struggle to put food on the table or keep a roof over their heads there is little money left over to take care of the animals. Certainly these practices would seem barbaric to most of us, but it costs money to be humane -- whether to people or animals. A bullet is cheaper than injection and so is mass gassing. That's the way some look at it, when there is barely enough money to keep the shelter going at all.

The fact that these practices still exist -- and that our fellow human beings are living in such poverty -- is an indictment of a dysfunctional society. It robs us all of our humanity.

And before someone jumps in here with their mantra about people in District 2 deserving what they get (ie, Jean Schmidt and the Republican neofascists) please remember: it is the poor eastern counties of this district, including voters in Adams County, who have twice tried to oust this wicked witch by voting for her Democratic opponent by large margins. So what have we democrats done for them lately for their support? From what I can see, not a helluva lot.

I live in West Virginia, one of the poorest states in this country. There are pockets of poverty here that remain largely ignored by the large society. When New York City loses power for a day, it makes national headlines; when entire West Virginia communities are swept away in floods, the media barely makes mention of it.

I live in one of the more prosperous areas of the state because we're on the eastern edge, bordering Virginia and Maryland. Even here, though, our local shelter can't keep dogs beyond one week. They are gassed, and I can well imagine that many shelters in rural West Virginia don't have the funding do anything other than shoot them. If they even have a shelter, which is "luxury" is places where children go hungry.

It simply has to do with a simple explanation. If you can't take care of them don't get them! Seems to me a little spaying and neutering might help the whole situation. And if the area is that poor then I guess the state or counties ought to step in and provide it. Seems like it would be cheaper to do that than to have to fund them in shelters for even a small amount of time. I am thinking that this whole damn country has lost it's common sense and decency. I own two Rescue animals, a dog and a horse. I am just one of those people that will never get it when it comes to animal abuse.

... drive out to rural areas specifically to dump their unwanted pets, including entire litters of kittens and puppies. (Believe me, I know. My partner and I have been involved in rescue for years and have rescues of our own.) Rural shelters are full of them. Plus, the dumped pets lead to an overpopulation of sick and feral animals. Too many people are stupid and think that if you let a pet loose in the wild it will just naturally be able to fend for itself. What it really means for these abandoned animals is starvation and a long, cruel road to death.

You can't expect people in poor, rural areas to spay and neuter all these cats and dogs -- they're lucky if they can afford to spay and neuter their own pets. Many of these people have rescued these dumped pets (and most rural families I know have taken in all they can possibly handle), so please don't tell them, "If you can't take care of them, don't get them!" Tell that to the next car you see driving out from the city onto a rural road where they dump their animals into the woods and farms.

Ideally, the county should have money to fix all these problems. It doesn't. It doesn't even have the money to take care of its human poor, so you think they should start paying for spaying a neutering for pets? Should we tell the folks in Adams County to stop having children because they're too poor? Should we demand they be neutered as not to tax the budget?

Just where is this money for rural shelters supposed to come from? Sadly, I don't have an answer for that. Perhaps the state should step in to subsidize these shelters so at least they could be maintained and animals treated with decency. We can't even get the states to do that for their people.

Believe me, I understand why you're upset (so am I) and I agree the system is broken. All we can do now is the best we can as individuals who care.

Almost everyone around here has taken in at least one (we have adopted 4 doggies and 2 cats) which are about all we can afford what with all the spaying, shots, neutering, food, etc. And yet there are
dozens running around loose - many people out here shoot them which sounds awful but the alternative
is starvation or being run over and maimed or killed. There is not an animal shelter in this county.

I have found homes for dogs that were "set free in the country". There are three things that usually happen to the dogs dumped in the country. 1) They are shot. 2) They are run over by cars. 3) They starve to death.
I don't understand the "people" who think the dog will be OK somehow if they roam the countryside. Dropping one in the country is animal cruelty. You are condemning the dog to a painful death. The best thing that can happen is it will be shot right away before it suffers too much.

Because the clock is ticking.

I hope people are able to get there in time.
:kick:

Is there any one group in that area that you know of that would be willing to pull these dogs and get a transport started? There must be some group in state that could help if made aware of this.

I was born and raised in Scioto County but haven't lived in that area of Ohio for years. (I'm in the WV eastern panhandle now, many miles from OH) And I'm afraid I don't know anything about any groups in Adams County, which is very rural. The rescue groups in Scioto County are doing all they can but they do not have enough room to take any more. That's why I'm posting here in order to hopefully reach someone or some group in Ohio that can help.

if you can!!! :cry:

:kick:

...if you haven't already.

:-(

There must be someone out there who can help?

:(

They are telling me that all the dogs are either placed in temporary foster care or placed. He said he would get back to me after he goes to his temporary shelter to care for the pups. Not sure what that means.

Now if some permanent homes could be found for some of these dogs the folks at the Adams County shelter will have time to make the needed repairs.

About that confusing bit... I assume some pups are in a temporary shelter until the rescuers can come pick them up. The county shelter itself is unusable and dangerous and flooded with raw sewage.

Thank you SO MUCH for the update.

It's stories like this that make me angry and frustrated that I don't have the space and resources to take in at least some of these dogs right now - but I'm happy to hear they're at least temporarily okay. Thanks for letting us know, and thanks for getting the word out!