St. Louis, MO (KTRS) Over a hundred dogs and cats are being nursed back to health at the Humane Society of Missouri after being rescued from a hoarding situation in western Missouri.
On Wednesday night, the HSMO’s Animal Cruelty Task Force rescued 84 dogs and 17 cats from a property in Bates County. This is the same property where more than 50 animals were rescued in 2011.
In this latest rescue, the animals were living in filthy conditions, according to the HSMO.
“These animals were forced to live in truly squalid conditions, the worst I have encountered in more than 40 years of rescuing animals from abuse and neglect,” said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations, Humane Society of Missouri.
The majority of the dogs and cats were living inside a waste-filled, trash-strewn, dilapidated small house. Many were in crates with so many layers of feces- and urine-saturated newspaper, the animals had no room to stand. Crates with animals in them were stacked on top of each other; others were outdoors, filled with animal waste and with little to no protection from the weather. Some single-dog crates contained two or three dogs. There was no running water on the property, and the majority of the animals didn’t have access to water.
“With frigid weather coming very soon, it’s imperative to bring these suffering animals to warmth and safety immediately,” said Kathy Warnick, president, Humane Society of Missouri. “As is typical in hoarding situations, persons allowed to continue to own animals often continue to collect them. We will provide an extensive report of our findings to the Bates County Prosecutor and recommend prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. The only way to protect animals from these horrific, dangerous conditions in the future is to prevent this person from possessing additional animals.”
The dogs are small, medium and large breeds, ranging in age from nursing puppies to mature, adult dogs; the cats are all adults of mixed breeds.
A disposition hearing to determine permanent custody of the animals is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2018.
The Humane Society of Missouri is requesting donations of dog and cat toys, long-cut shredded paper, newspapers, towels, blankets and sheets. Donations may be dropped off at the Humane Society of Missouri’s Macklind Ave. Adoption Center, 1201 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Monetary donations to provide for the animals’ care may be made at www.hsmo.org or by calling 314-951-1542.
