Months after the former Georgia dog sanctuary was closed by the state Department of Agriculture, heroic rescuers still struggle to care for more than 40 animals and find them homes.
Update 10/16: There is good news and bad news from the rescuers caring for the animals from the former Canine Angels sanctuary. The good news is that with persistence and hard work over the past few weeks they have placed almost all of the cats and dozens of dogs, so only 46 animals remain -- 43 dogs, 1 cat, the pig and the tame boar.
The bad news is that the rescuers are under increasing pressure from the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and have the feeling that their time may run out as early as next month.
More help is needed, as soon as possible. Please visit the new
Kat 5 Animal Rescue community on the Best Friends Network for more information on what you can do, and for continual updates.
Pictured: Boss, one of the Canine Angels dogs lucky enough to catch a ride to a sanctuary on a recent transport. Many dogs like Boss are still waiting for loving homes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Story. Dudley is the kind of dog who often goes unnoticed, lost amidst the bustle of the dozens of other dogs at the former Canine Angels sanctuary in Dewy Rose, Georgia.
A Border Collie on the top half, and a Corgi on the bottom, Dudley (pictured) looks like a big dog who’s been cut off at the knees – his legs are only about six inches long. Following eye surgery for glaucoma, the 10-year-old mutt has only one eye and is mostly blind, and almost completely deaf.
“When you see him here he was just overlooked, because he is quiet, shy, and older, and he kept to himself. He is one of the shadow dogs who you don’t really notice, he doesn’t stand out at all,” says volunteer Heather Cosgrave.
Dudley has languished at the Canine Angels facility for nearly six years – more than half his life – starved for attention and waiting for a home that has never come. But when Cosgrave took him home for foster care during his eye surgery, she learned what a special dog he is.
“He just loves everybody. His tail is always wagging, he loves to roll over, he used to follow me from room to room in the house,” Cosgrave says, adding that he is good with cats and other dogs. “He is just one of those dogs who has really come out of his shell – he is playing now, loves to go for walks, loves car rides. He is just looking for a home to relax and hold down the floor.”
Dudley is one of about 100 animals –including 86 dogs, 11 cats, a pig and a tame boar – who remain at the former Canine Angels sanctuary, which was shut down this year by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The founders of the sanctuary, Sue Wells and Lynette Rowe, had racked up 62 citations for violations, and more than $15,000 in fines, before they signed a consent agreement to close the sanctuary in May.
Two months later after the sanctuary closed, Rowe and Wells abandoned their property and the animals, leaving several animals locked in their trailer without food and water. They are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 22 on 13 counts of animal cruelty in relation to this abandonment.
At the time of closure there were about 150 dogs. Animal advocate Jim Willis intervened to prevent the Department of Agriculture from seizing all of the dogs, by personally taking ownership of them and promising to place them all in homes or no-kill sanctuaries. Since then, the Department of Agriculture has agreed to hold off seizure of the animals, as long as rescuers are caring for them and attempting to place them. More than 60 have been placed so far.
Although Canine Angels was reportedly once a good facility, Georgia state officials allege that it got out of hand, with Rowe and Wells taking in more animals than they could properly care for, and adoption efforts coming to a standstill. Rescuers say that although most of the animals there are surprisingly healthy, they show signs of neglect, and, like Dudley, have been poorly socialized and starved for attention.
Shortly after the facility was closed, a new animal rescue group called Kat 5 intervened to care for the animals and find them homes – although the dogs officially belong to Willis, he has not been able to be on site to care for them. Formed by Atlanta businessman Larry Roberts and a group of people who met while doing animal rescue in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Kat 5 is dedicated to helping animals affected by all kinds of disasters – both human and manmade.
“You can’t save all of them, you just find out where there is a need and it touches your heart, and you start there,” says Kat 5 executive director Susan Meyer. “Ignorance is bliss, but once you know, you can’t turn away.”
Although the organization was still just getting set up when the situation arose with Canine Angels, the founders decided they needed to help, and have since put more than $30,000 of their own money into the rescue effort. In addition to providing food, water and veterinary care for the animals, they are paying transport costs to get animals to new homes.
Cassandra Koster, head field officer for Kat 5, traveled to Georgia from Ohio and has now been living in her car on the facility grounds for three months, in conditions that she calls “very, very primitive.”
“There are some great dogs here, but they have definitely been neglected, and a lot of them have been here way too long,” Koster says. “They are starving for attention, sitting here waiting for homes even though many are highly adoptable. They just break my heart.”
One large transport to the northeast organized by another Georgia group ended largely in disappointment, as 32 of the dogs were turned away by a Connecticut shelter. Even though these dogs had been professionally evaluated before the transport, they were turned away as undersocialized – one dog being declined because he “cowers at a suddenly raised fist,” according to Willis.
“It was a very upsetting situation,” Meyer says. “These poor dogs had been traveling for hours, and they were evaluated in the middle of the night, and then 22 of them were rejected right off the bat, and not even by a certified behaviorist. We had evaluated them and these were 48 very adoptable dogs.”
Rescuers found placement with other Northeast shelters for 14 of these dogs, but the others needed to make the long trek back to Georgia.
Of the 86 dogs remaining at the facility, Koster says that at least 30 are happy and very friendly, and ready to go straight to homes. Of the others, she says most just need a little time and patience. None are aggressive toward people, although about 10 of the dogs are very poorly socialized and will need special attention.
“Given manpower and time, they all have potential [to be great pets.] A lot of them have turned around for me, but that doesn’t help them, they need to turn around for everyone. But it’s a start,” she says. “The more help I get, the better, the quicker they will turn around. We especially need men to volunteer, because a lot of them have seen very few men [in recent years].”
Koster says some great volunteers have made a huge difference in socializing the dogs, many of whom had experienced very little human interaction in recent years.
“The pens are so large that if they are in a pack of six or seven and get pushed out of the way, they probably never got touched,” she said. “But some of the shy dogs have gotten turned around and now will crawl into your lap…For some volunteers, all they do is socialize the dogs. Sometimes they just bring a book and sit in the pens with them and read and talk to them.”
Although the Canine Angels situation drew a lot of attention at first, help has now slacked off, and Kat 5 is desperate for more volunteers, and donations of money and supplies, such as flea and tick treatment and heartworm preventative.
Although Meyer and Koster both say they are in for the long haul, they worry about how much longer they can last without significant public support.
“We won’t desert these animals, we don’t want to desert these animals, but we can’t sustain this forever,” Meyer says. “Cassandra’s hard core, and if she can help it she won’t leave, but we need help badly. If we get help, we will stay there until we find placement for all the animals.”
On some days, Koster is the only volunteer at the facility. As a new organization, Kat 5 doesn’t have the resources to fund the effort alone. And transport help is needed to get dogs to locations around the country where some organizations have already offered to accept them.
“This rescue effort is far from over, and we are under the gun to get all the dogs off the farm as soon as possible,” Willis says. “The Department of Agriculture wants us to wind this up, the volunteers are exhausted, the funds have been depleted with over $7,000 in vet costs still to pay, and most of all, the dogs just want to go home.”
“The clock is definitely ticking,” Meyer says. “The Department of Agriculture never said we could have an indefinite amount of time, and I’m sure they are surprised we are still there. They are cooperative, but they wanted the animals out of there yesterday.”
Please help Kat 5 care for the Canine Angels animals, and place them in good homes. In order to help or get more information, please contact Kat 5 at 214-235-5530 or kat5animalrescue@yahoo.com
Help is needed in the following areas:
--Good homes for 86 remaining dogs, 11 cats, 1 tame pig, and 1 tame boar. All of the cats are beautiful and friendly, as are the pig and the boar! Most of the dogs are also very friendly and sociable, while others will require a little work and patience. Pictures and descriptions of these animals can be viewed at: http://semperfifarm.com/kat5/ and http://www.negacanineangels.com/adopt.htm.
--Volunteers who can come to the sanctuary in rural Dewy Rose, Georgia, and help care for and socialize remaining animals, giving them a chance at a loving home.
--Volunteers who are willing to help transport animals to locations around the country.
--Donations to help defer mounting expenses, including veterinary bills, transport costs, food, medication, and supplies. Tax-deductible donations can be made to Kat 5, a 501c3 organization, through www.paypal.com, to the following address: kat5animalrescue@yahoo.com. Donations may also be sent to:
Kat 5 Animal Rescue
2807 Allen St. #790
Dallas, TX. 75204
--Donations of supplies, particularly medical supplies like flea and tick treatment, and heartworm preventative.
The following supplies are needed as of 9/25. Please call 214-235-5530 for updates or more information:
Food:
1) 3 or 4 pallets of Purina One 50 lb bags of Dry dog food. (Last time it was ordered through a local store and he kept the food there until it was needed. Great decision as it kept it out of rain and away from pests)
2) 20 cases Alpo Chunks Canned Dog food
3) 30 bags Meaty bones dog biscuits
Medicine:
1) 80 treatments of Frontline Plus for 75-100 lbs.
2) 150 doses of Heartguard for 50-100 lb dogs.
3) 300 pills of Clavamox 375mg.
4) 20 bottles Frontline Spray
5) 20 bottles Saline Solution - lens cleaner
6) 3 gallons Flea and Tick shampoo
7) 6 flea and tick combs
Toys:
1) 20 Kongs with peanut butter
2) 50 chew toys
3) 60 heavy duty rope toys
Supplies:
1) Scanner for microchips
2) 2 - 50 gallon trashcans with wheels
3) 8 - 10 tupperware/sterilite containers. (Translucent so you can see contents, handles on sides, about 24"x18"x12"high approx)
4) 30 Bath mats (used in crates when dogs are transported so they will not slip inside crate)
5) 30-40 towels for drying dogs, bowls, misc
6) 30 twin flat sheets, white, for covering crates
7) 10 - 15 cases paper towels
8) Many poop bags
9) Scrub brushes
10) 10 gallons of bleach
11) Storage shed to keep dog food from getting rained on and spoiled.