Around 60 dogs were rescued from a George County home Wednesday morning.
The unidentified resident of the home had been incarcerated for an unspecified crime, leaving dozens of canines to fend for themselves with no care or supervision.
After neighbors took their complaints to law enforcement and social media, rescue crews from Lucky’s Little Rescue in Lucedale, Wags and Whiskers in Mobile, Ala., Hub City Humane Society, and Southern Pines Animal Shelter in Hattiesburg collaborated to rescue the abandoned four-legged friends.
Rescue crews were welcomed with what Lynne Broussard, the owner of Lucky’s Little Rescue, detailed as one of the most horrifying scenes she had witnessed in her life. Broussard, who was “never more thankful” to be dealing with a sinus infection at the time, noted that she and other rescuers encountered sights and smells that would haunt most.
The home was a complete mess, according to Broussard. Multiple dogs were spotted in cages far too small. Others were running around the home aimlessly with nowhere to go. Some, many of which were puppies, were even found dead. All were living in their own filth, and several had resorted to eating the decaying carcasses of dogs that had passed away.
“It was like the worst episode of ‘Hoarders’ you have ever seen,” Broussard said. “The worst part I think for all of us was the dogs that were deceased. When you see the dogs in the tiny cages, you’re like, ‘I can get them out.’ When you see them starving and skinny, you’re like, ‘I can feed them,’ but when you get there and they’re already gone, there’s nothing you can do at that point.”
The dogs that were rescued were covered in fleas, suffering hair loss, and had scab wounds from itching themselves. Some even had broken tails from being confined in small enclosures. Nonetheless, Broussard was pleased to discover that the pets surprisingly did not have Canine parvovirus — a contagious virus spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces.
Now, the animals have been taken to each of the respective shelters to receive flea and heartworm treatment, get bathed and groomed, and experience human love and affection for the first time in their lives. Some have even found foster homes.
“They’re surprisingly friendly for how much horror they had to survive and how little contact they probably had with people,” Broussard continued. “A lot of them, when we got them out of a kennel and put them on a leash, they would immediately be scared and freak out, but the moment we would touch them, pet them, and tell them it was okay, they kind of melted into us.”
Broussard touted the assistance crews received from the George County Sheriff’s Department — specifically Sheriff Keith Havard. It was a breath of fresh air for Broussard to witness law enforcement taking initiative and showing an equal level of concern for the well-being of animals as she has for years.
“They were out there to help us. The sheriff did just about everything we asked him to do. He was so nice and so great to work with,” Broussard said. “It was really nice to see that they care. They want a shelter. They want animal control. They want to help, but their hands are just as tied as ours are.”
The animal rescue shelter owner was informed by neighbors that law enforcement would be prohibiting the woman from hoarding pets ever again. Neighbors were instructed to call authorities immediately if they suspect her bringing any dogs into her home.
Broussard hopes this incident will bring more public awareness to the reality of animal abuse and neglect and desires for more resources to be made available to law enforcement and animal shelters to combat the issue.
