Animal organizations come together to help animals in need after their caregiver passes away.

Any animal lover would be deeply saddened at the thought of 150 dogs living on their own in the desert, hundreds of miles from anywhere and with little human interaction. For Linda Bailey, of Bishop, California, what makes things even worse is the fact that a beloved family member put those dogs there.

Bailey’s aunt, Dama Louise Wirries, was involved in animal rescue for decades. She once operated a small animal shelter in Rigby, Idaho, and founded her own 501c3 organization called Dama’s Dog Foundation. Like many rescuers, she had a boundless heart when it came to helping animals in need. Like many rescuers-turned-hoarders, she also had an inability to say ‘No’ or to realize when she was in too deep.

In addition to rescuing hundreds of dogs on her own, Wirries took in more animals than the shelter could support. By 2002, the situation in Idaho had grown so unmanageable that Wirries loaded her dozens of dogs into a sheep trailer and relocated them to a remote ranch in Gabbs, Nevada.



The new living arrangement for Wirries and her dogs wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t horrible. She lived in a trailer and the dogs lived nearby in fenced runs. Each run had a good-sized hay bale structure that provided the dogs with a warm refuge in the winter and a cool place to lie in the summer. There were large water troughs for drinking and wading, and some runs had trees providing additional shade.

But Wirries’ rescue career continued in this new location, and her numbers continued to grow as unwanted pets were dumped on the property. Few financial resources and a two-hour drive to the closest vet made getting the dogs fixed a near impossibility, so puppies were also added to the mix. By May of 2007, there were approximately 150 dogs living on the property.

And then Wirries died. She left behind no written will, only a verbal request that the family euthanize all the dogs.

“We just couldn’t do that,” Bailey told me when she called Best Friends Animal Help Department a few days after her aunt’s death. “But what DO we do??”



Although Bailey initially hoped that Best Friends Animal Society could take all the dogs, the reality is that no organization can easily accommodate a huge influx of animals at once. As an Animal Help Specialist, I have worked on countless cases like Bailey’s situation and knew that the most effective approach is to involve as many other organizations and private homes as possible.

Since photos and descriptions really help people connect to an animal, the first step in finding placements for this many dogs is to gather as much information about them as possible. Bailey quickly got some snapshots together and I sent a brief message about the situation to Best Friends members and supporters.

Immediately, people responded. Some – like Robin Wenham, a graduate of Best Friends’ “How to Start a Sanctuary Workshop” – took a very proactive approach. With Bailey’s blessing, Wenham traveled from northern California to the ranch to get better photos of the dogs and to pick up five for his own fledgling rescue organization, Cirrus Ranch.

He also took a second trip to the ranch about a month later to pick up another five dogs and bring them to Best Friends.

Kris L. Brown and a number of other volunteers from the Yerington Animal Shelter, some 120 miles away, likewise journeyed to the ranch in mid-November and picked up 12 dogs. On a subsequent trip, three more dogs were brought back to Yerington.

The Nevada Humane Society sent trainer David Pyle to meet and evaluate the dogs, and he retrieved a young Labrador that had been badly injured in a fight.

Best Friends also received a number of inquiries from individuals wanting to adopt some of the dogs. Based on more information from Pyle, Wenham, and Brown, however, it was becoming clear that we didn’t know enough about the dog’s temperaments yet to determine if they were truly ready to plop down on the living room couch next to the kids.

Michelle Besmehn, manager of Best Friends’ Dogtown, who had felt drawn to the case from the time she first heard about it in May, determined that we needed to take a trip to Gabbs.

“I wanted to go out and meet the remaining dogs and figure out how we could continue to help,” she says. “Even knowing that we were able to help the five dogs that we did, I couldn’t stop thinking about the others still waiting to be rescued. With more information maybe we could find more groups or homes that would be willing to help.”

In early December, several Best Friends staff members – including Besmehn, Animal Care Advisor Jeff Popowich, and myself – traveled to the ranch, where we met up with Bailey, Brown, Pyle, and Lorayn Walser of Dog Town Rescue out of Carson City, Nevada. It quickly became clear just how bad this situation was for the dogs.

They were quite literally stranded in the desert, and though they were being fed and watered once a day, no one was just spending any time with them. Most of the dogs had no idea what a leash was, and would spin on the end of their tether if we tried to walk them. A few had liberated themselves from their runs and were living in culverts along the road, and some of the unaltered males had scaled fences to get to the unaltered females.

The inevitable result of the latter situation was a litter of four-week-old puppies. Although the mother was in the run with her pups, so were three other dogs – including another female who was stealing the babies and taking them into a hole with her. Without consistent feedings, the puppies were becoming malnourished, and they were so dehydrated that we had to immediately give them subcutaneous fluids.



We noticed other issues as we walked around the site, like long-ignored medical problems. Tooy (pronounced TWO-ee) was an older black lab with a huge tumor on his stomach that had ulcerated; and Chester was a senior Dalmatian who had several very old injuries to his eyes.

Worst of all, some of the dogs were fighting and there were no people around to break it up. We saw dogs limping or sporting large abscesses in several runs. The worst, though, was Tuffy.



This 7-month-old Pointer mix had most likely been dumped on the property recently and attacked by some of the free-roaming dogs. His injuries were life-threatening, so Popowich and Besmehn wasted no time loading him into a vehicle with Tooy and the puppies for transport to the nearest vet, then back to the sanctuary. Click here to read all about Tuffy’s journey as a Best Friends Guardian Angel.

The rest of the day was spent gathering as much in-depth information as we could about every dog on site. Dog Town Rescue took three dogs back, including Chester; and Pyle took his second injured Gabbs dog back to Reno for rehabilitation. Brown took two of the sweetest females back to Yerington, along with Shirley, a dog who had been living in a hole in her run.

As the sun set, we had no choice but to turn our backs on the dogs and leave them, howling and alone, in the cold desert. Knowing that these animals are still suffering is by far the toughest part of this whole project, Popowich says.

“I feel bad that the dogs that are still out there aren't getting any attention,” he says. “I worry about them being cold at night and also their safety. What happened to Tuffy could happen to another dog out there, but there may not be anyone around to help.”

“Every animal out there deserves to have the life that Tuffy and Tooy have right now here at the Sanctuary, where they have received medical attention and love,” Besmehn says. “I hope that more people step forward and offer to take animals into their homes.”

A Collaborative Effort

Since Bailey contacted the Animal Help Department in May, things have improved for the Gabbs dogs thanks to some collaborative work between agencies both large and small:

- Yerington Animal Shelter, Yerington, NV -

Eight of the 15 dogs that went to Yerington have already been adopted. Many of the older dogs that the group rescued turned out to be well-socialized and already leash-trained, but the younger ones are proving to be a little more difficult. All the dogs, however, are doing well and adapting to their new environments.

In addition to caring for the dogs that have come to live in Yerington, shelter volunteers are driving out to the ranch every few weeks to spend time with the remaining dogs and get them more used to human contact. The volunteers are also gathering more information about the dogs’ temperaments and keeping an eye on their health, and they continue to contact other area rescue groups to try to find suitable placement for more of the dogs.

“All in all, our experience with the ‘Gabbs dogs’ has been a win-win situation,” says volunteer Kris L. Brown. “The dogs are receiving love and attention, the volunteers are learning about socializing dogs, and several people have joined our volunteer group because of their interest in the dogs.”

- The Nevada Humane Society, Reno, NV -



image by David Pyle

The Nevada Humane Society (NHS) took two seriously injured dogs from the Gabbs property, and they continue to recover in the organization’s care. NHS is working closely with Best Friends on future plans for adopting out the Gabbs dogs.

- Dog Town Rescue, Carson City, NV -



Dog Town Rescue has three Gabbs dogs, and volunteers are working hard on getting them accustomed to people and rehomed, so that they can rescue more.

In addition to these local groups, three of the nine national organizations involved in the National Animal Rescue & Sheltering Coalition (NARSC) are actively involved:

- United Animal Nations, Sacramento, CA -
In a collaborative effort with other national and local animal welfare groups, United Animal Nations is assisting in the possible placement of the dogs that remain on the ranch in Gabbs by contacting reputable rescue groups throughout Northern California for possible transfer, foster care and placement into new homes. Founded in 1987, United Animal Nations (UAN) is North America’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services and a key advocate for the critical needs of animals. UAN assists animals by helping to prevent, mitigate and resolve crises.

- Humane Society of the United States, Sacramento, CA -

In mid-December, the HSUS’ West Coast Regional Office was contacted by Shannon Asquith at UAN regarding the plight of the Gabbs dogs. To complement the ongoing efforts of Best Friends, UAN, NHS and the Yerington shelter, HSUS is contacting major shelters throughout CA to find placement for as many dogs as possible and will provide transportation when these arrangements are finalized. HSUS is also hoping to vaccinate the dogs and arrange for veterinary care if needed. The HSUS is committed to this effort and believes all these dogs deserve a chance at a better life.



What You Can Do to Help

Adopt – There are still approximately 80 dogs living on the ranch near Gabbs, and they all need homes. You can see photos and some brief bio information on them in the “Meet the Gabbs Dogs” Forum. You can also contact those organizations that have already rescued some of the Gabbs dogs and adopt from them. Even adopting a dog that didn’t come from this situation can make room for one more of the Gabbs dogs to come inside out of the cold.

Donate – All of the dogs will require some medical care once they are taken in by a rescue group or an individual, whether it’s simply getting vaccinations or undergoing surgery for long-ignored health conditions. Funds are also needed to offset the costs of transporting the dogs to their new homes.

Learn More about Hoarding – Hoarders are individuals who have an emotional illness characterized by keeping a large number of animals, usually in poor condition. Like the Gabbs dogs, animals in hoarding situations often are not fixed and have not received regular veterinary care.

There is a clear difference between a hoarder and a rescuer who may have gotten in over his or her head. A rescuer who has a large number of animals, but who provides good quality care to the animals and is trying to place them into new homes, is not a hoarder.

Sometimes rescuers start off with good intentions, but when they become unwilling to give up their animals because they believe the animals could never be happy or well-cared-for by anyone else, they’ve crossed the line.

“I have been involved in a few situations that are similar to this one and it is always sad and frustrating,” Popowich says. “It is one thing to see animals in bad situations that are caused by things like natural disasters, but it never gets easier when they are suffering due to humans.

“I don't doubt that this woman started off with good intentions and I can see where she went from there,” he continues. “Hoarding is an illness, and although that doesn't excuse her, I do feel bad for people that are sick like she was. Unfortunately I don't think there is any treatment or cures out there to help people like her. And if given the chance, they will always fall right back in to that pattern of taking on way to much and it is always the animals that suffer.”

To learn more about recognizing the signs of hoarding, and what you can do to help animals in these situations, go to the Special Features section of the Best Friends website.

by Liz Finch, Best Friends Animal Society
main image by Linda Bailey
all other images by Molly Wald, Best Friends Animal Society

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