Twenty-six animals crammed in a small, feces-filled house in Des Moines have been rescued and are now safe at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. The 21 dogs and 5 cats and kittens were found crawling with fleas and reeking of urine, and nearly all of the dogs are suffering from hair loss and skin infections.
When ARL Animal Services Officers entered the house, the heavy stench of urine burned their eyes and lungs. Feces and trash covered the floor, making it difficult to navigate the small space. Dogs of all sizes were crowded everywhere.
Further into the house, rescuers discovered two adult cats and three 4-week-old kittens trapped in cages with litterboxes so overflowing, they were spilling out the sides of the cages. The cats’ fur was deeply stained with urine from living in their own waste for so long.
It quickly became clear that several of the dogs were extremely shy, and most had never walked on a leash before. Rescuers slowly and carefully loaded each pet into the rescue van for their drive to a new start. Thankfully, all 26 are now safe at the ARL, and with your help, they can start healing.
ARL’s Emergency Care Team met the pets at the shelter and examined each of them to determine individual treatment plans. Some of the dogs’ fur loss and skin conditions are severe, both from flea bites and the deplorable conditions they were living in. One senior dog is suffering from fur loss and skin sores, and what fur she does have is tightly matted. Another tiny dog with inflamed skin is missing nearly all the fur on her back.
Most of the dogs’ nails are so overgrown it is difficult for them to walk comfortably. The kittens’ ears are full of mites. Nearly all the pets will need spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations. Beyond medical care, at least six of the dogs will need extensive behavioral rehabilitation before they’re ready for new homes.
These 26 dogs and cats need you now. Some will need specialized care to heal not just physically but emotionally. With your help they will not only get the care and comfort they need now, they’ll finally get the loving homes they deserve with families who will cherish them.
Please donate today so we can give these 26 pets the care they will need now and in the weeks to come, and so we can continue to answer the call for help when animals have nowhere else to turn. After the horrors these pets have lived through, you can give them hope.
