NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Dozens of dogs are getting the care they need after being rescued from horrible living conditions by Animal Rescue Corps. They've done three rescue this week.
"We've been in West Tennessee because of a bunch of dogs were abandoned there, then we rushed out to West Virginia to an abandoned coal mine and got another 17 dogs," Animal Rescue Corps Shelter Director, Michael Cunningham, said.
These animals had no access to food or clean water. There were dozens of neglected and exploited dogs. They were all shapes and sizes.
The latest rescue happening in Horse Cave, Kentucky where nearly 60 dogs living in neglectful conditions were saved from a breeding and hoarding situation. Many of them were chained to trees.
"Some of them had water barrels as their dog houses others had pallets leaned together with a piece of plywood leaned against it. You couldn’t even see the bottom of the water buckets because the leaves had fallen into there. The water was spoiled, and no food on the property," Cunningham said.
These animals are now at a shelter being cared for in Middle Tennessee. They have to be groomed and seen by a vet, and some of them may have infections.
"We've got a lot of parasites. You’ve got all sorts of worms, fleas, ticks, and all this stuff is sucking the blood out of these animals and their immune system collapses because they become anemic," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said many of the rescues are happening in rural areas, where resources for people and animals are limited.
"They can’t address it. There’s no shelter and if they have a shelter it’s full, so we bring in those resources. Help resolve it in a humane way get those animals as out of there," Cunningham said.
Cunningham says these dogs never had a fighting chance at life and now they’re getting the opportunity to find their fur-ever home.
Each dog will receive a thorough veterinary exam, appropriate vaccinations, and any necessary medical treatments before they will be matched and transported to trusted shelter and rescue partner organizations that will ultimately adopt them into loving homes.
