Planned rescue of 10 chihuahuas leads to recovery of almost 150 dogs

PAKERSBURG, W.Va. (WHATAP/Gray News) – Nearly 150 dogs were rescued from a home in West Virginia.

The Humane Society of Parkersburg said 146 canines were recovered from one location late Wednesday afternoon.

Samantha Tannous, the shelter’s manager, said a tip came in from a neighbor of the home, who told them there were at least 10 Chihuahuas in the home.

“Our humane officers went there, and just by the cans and feces we knew there were probably more than 10 of them,” Tannous said. “We didn’t expect 146.”

The humane society said the number of dogs found in the home was overwhelming.

“It’s just gotten out of hand,” says director Gary McIntyre. “Unfortunately, the dogs were not spayed or neutered, so they kept having litters of dogs, and then each new litter had additional litters.”

Volunteer Dreama Councilor said she had never seen a situation like this since working with the organization.

“I’ve been volunteering for years, so many years, and they’ve had cases like this, but none like this,” Councilor said. “This is the biggest.”

McIntyre said he is grateful for the community’s support with the donations and help at the shelter.

“I have to say the community has been extremely supportive of everything we’ve done,” McIntire said. “Yesterday we sent out a message quite quickly that we needed metal crates. We knew that as the number of dogs increased, it seemed like the number was getting higher and higher every 30 minutes because initially we thought we were talking about 30 dogs.”

Parkersburg Police have been notified of the situation.

The Humane Society of Parkersburg rescues nearly 150 dogs.(Human Society of Parkersburg)

These items are needed by the HSOP for the newly arrived dogs.(Shyla Firenze)

Humane Society staff are now busy caring for the newly arrived dogs at the shelter.

“They are all here at the shelter now, while some are in foster care,” Tannous said. ‘Right now we are cleaning them, getting them vaccinated and getting their nails trimmed. That is what we work with.”

Certain items are still needed to help accommodate the influx of dogs, staff said. To learn more about the Humane Society of Parkersburg and support their efforts, visit them website.