Ailing dogs rescued from woman

By D.A. Wilkinson

Humane agents planned the coordinated search for days.

COLUMBIANA — Humane officials are starting to assess the condition of more than 120 dogs they took from a Columbiana woman.

Brenda Austin, the Columbiana County Humane Agent, said the 75-year-old woman was a hoarder who kept getting dogs even though she could not provide for them.

Officials aren’t sure of the number of dogs involved, since several that were running free were not captured by humane traps.

One dead dog was found at the property, and several more were found in a house trailer that was strewn with feces. There was little food and water for the animals, officials said.

The dogs are at an emergency shelter authorities don’t want to identify, in part to avoid well-meaning people asking now to adopt one of the animals.

Austin said she went to the home to talk to the woman and obtained a search warrant from county Municipal Court Judge Carol Robb based on what she saw.

Ryan Weikart, an assistant county prosecutor, said the question of whether charges would be filed hasn’t been discussed.

Austin said the owner gave up custody of the dogs if she could keep 25 of them. That could change depending on whether any charges are filed, she added.

Humane officers and volunteers planned the search for about 10 days.

The inventory of what was found is expected to be returned today.

Dean Vickers, the Ohio director for The Humane Society of the United States, said the woman raised Manchester terriers. They are small dogs that weigh about 15 pounds.

“She was selling them as she could in the local newspaper,” Austin said. “It was a hobby. It was not a profit-run kennel by normal or accepted standards.”

Local authorities were aided by people trained to be members of a Disaster Animal Response Team.

Each dog was given a band with a number, photographed, and checked by veterinarians. Volunteers helping with the search came from Cincinnati, Dayton and Oil City, Pa. Vickers is driving back and forth from Columbus each day.

Those involved in the search went in with bands that were numbered for each dog. Three veterinarians examined the dogs.

Vickers added that the dogs are now being fed good food regularly, along with fresh water. That will help calm the animals and help determine if they can become pets, he said.

The goal is to find people who will take care of the dogs — foster them — until owners can be found.

The problem, Vickers said, is not exclusive to Columbiana County.

He said in one case in Dayton, a woman had hundreds of cats.

But hoarders, he said, “are typically older women.”

House Bill 446 to address locating lost dogs and cats has been passed and is in the Senate. It would increase fees for licenses, and would require implanted chips for both dogs and cats.

Currently, if a lost cat is found, there is no way to identify the owner. Fees would be on a sliding scale, with lower costs in less-affluent counties.

Jenny Pike, the president of the county humane society who was helping get the dogs settled, asked people interested in fostering a dog to call the society at (330) 332-2600.

She also said the society could use donations of paper towels and dog food. Items can be left at the society’s headquarters at 2180 state Route 45 south in Salem.

wilkinson@vindy.com