This story is an update on the January 26th post, Hundreds Of Dogs Removed From Puppy Mill. Rescuers saved hundreds of neglected dogs living in horrid conditions during a two part raid.
The local shelters are already struggling to keep up with the overwhelming deluge of dogs, financially and physically. Now they have to contend with approximately 500 of the dogs giving birth.
That’s right, 500 of the dogs are pregnant. With the expectation that each dog will have three puppies, typical litter when stressed, that’s an unbelievable total of 1,500.
These births are going to leave struggling rescuers with over 2,000 dogs that need to be taken care of. Resources are running out, they are in desperate need of help.
Families and volunteers are rushing in to help – Lorraine Monroe and her daughters want to provide foster care for some of the dogs.
“We need people to step up and help – families and everybody taking a dog or two,” Monroe says. “We can really alleviate the problem.”
With the cost of veterinary care, medication, grooming and dog food, rescuers estimate it will cost $20 per day to take care of each animal.
“It will break us unless we get help from the public,” said Joan Crane, co-founder of S.P.O.T.
If you would like to make a donation to help care for these dogs you can do so at the KOMO Problem Solvers Fund. Saving Pets One Step at A Time (S.P.O.T.) is also helping out, they are in need of volunteers and donations.
Animal control officers are asking that anyone who has purchased a dog from the Mountain View kennel belonging to Sundbergs to call the Skagit County Sheriff’s office as this information may be important to their investigation.
The contact is Animal Control officer JoHannah Deterding, who can be reached at (360) 336-9450 or at johannad@co.skagit.wa.us.
