First responders were responding to an emergency call of a man having a health emergency when they found the home was filled with over fifty dogs in distress.
Knowing they were dealing with a hoarding situation, authorities reached out to Hillside Kennels Animal Control for help, who mobilized all their staff to rescue the dogs from the home. Among the rescuers was Cassia Bryden, a staff member of Hillside Kennels and founder of Sato Saved End of the Line dog Rescue. She said that a total of 52 dogs were removed from the home over the past 7 days.
Hillside Kennels Animal Control
“Many of these dogs are missing half of their fur and have scars and bite wounds,” she noted on her rescue’s Facebook page on October 9, 2021. She shared a few pictures of the two of the dogs who are suffering from fleas and long nails.
The dogs were found sick, starving and traumatized, inside the home near Blandford, Ontario. Many have poor skin and fur from prolonged flea infestations. Others have nails so long they cannot walk properly. And many of the dogs also have mental and emotional issues that will need special care and patience to recover, say rescuers.
Hillside Kennels Animal Control
Hillside Kennels is housing several of the dogs with rescue organizations and fosters across the Canadian province taking in other dogs. Cassia said that the dogs have been split up into groups with seven rescue organizations having come together to help Hillside Kennels shelter. Among the many rescues are PetSave Sudbury, Travelling Tails k9 and 4Champ Animal Rescue.
Hillside Kennels Animal Control
The dogs rescued are all large breed dogs with shepherd or Labrador and Rottweiler mixes.
Support from the community so far has been positive, with a flood of donations having come in to Hillside.
“We would like to thank everyone for the generous donations that have been coming in and continue to come in,” the shelter writes. “We have had the 10 dogs in our care looked at by our vet and they have been treated for various issues. They are all doing very well and we are working with them daily.”
The shelter added, “They have a long road ahead of them to help them with their fears and psychological issues before they will be ready for adoption. Please be patient while we work with them.”
Hillside Kennels Animal Control
Cassia also said the road to recovery for the dogs is a long one. “They will need a lot of time and a lot of patience. And even more love.” But after days of long work, Cassia is relieved the dogs are in safe hands. “Finally I can lay my head down on my pillow knowing they at least have a chance.”
To help support their rescue efforts, you can visit the GoFundMe page set up by Cassia.
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