LINCOLN, Ark. (KNWA) — Dogs were on the verge of dying at a puppy mill until authorities rescued the animals and put their owner behind bars. Now the Animal League of Washington County has been awarded custody of the dogs seized. These animals have made a miraculous recovery.
Just over a month ago officers arrived to a Lincoln home, and arrested Debbie Cain, 62, for eight counts of felony animal cruelty and 62 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. After a month of recovery, these dogs are finally ready for a new home.
“They were puppy mill dogs, so very matted and obviously scared,” said Carmen Nelson, the Director of Animal League of Washington County.
After a tips call came in, officers raided Debbie Cain’s property only to find a sight they had never seen before — dogs living in their own feces and sleeping next to dead carcasses.
“Lots of skin conditions, horrible periodontal disease with almost all the dogs in the yorkie breed. We’ve had to clean their teeth and some have had to have all their teeth removed,” Nelson said.
Of the 71 animals seized, 64 of them went into the care of the Animal League of Washington County and four went on to the Washington County Animal Shelter.
“We have one other one that was blind and her eyes were damaged from living in a dark room her whole life…then we had a min pin that had glaucoma and the pressure on his eyes were so severe that we had to remove both his eyes,” Nelson said.
In just over a month these dogs have made leaps and bounds.
“We’ve probably had about $600 minimum with each dog, especially the ones that had the dental so we’re quite a bit deep in it,” Nelson said.
Racking up a bill of nearly $25,000 total. But with the help of donations, these animals are getting all the care they need.
“We’re not going to not do anything for them, they are all going to get procedures they need. They are all getting spayed and neutered now and their dental and they’ve had their vaccinations and their flee and tick and their heartworm preventions,” Nelson said.
Turning a heartbroken situation into a hopeful one. Only a few dogs are left to be adopted.
“We have a ton of applications and we have a lot of approved applications, so we ask for people to please be patient because we’re processing them and trying to find the right dog for the right family. We have 6 yorkies left and Nico being one of them and we have ten miniature pins left as well.” Nelson said.
To find out more information about how you can adopt one of these dogs, email animalleaguewc@gmail.com.