Humane Society of Central Texas in need of help following rescue of 17 dogs in Waco

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - More than a dozen dogs were rescued from a McLennan County home over the weekend, but the work is far from over.

The dogs are now at the Humane Society of Central Texas.

“Who knows how long they were locked up in that house,” Kandi Hillyer, Executive Director of the Humane Society, said. “It was about 115 degrees they measured in that home they came from. A heart wrenching, absolutely filthy environment.”

The dogs are being assessed and taken care of but they need your help because taking in more than a dozen dogs at one time is no simple task

“Most of them look pretty good, most of them are decently fed, not too many obvious injuries or bruises,” Dr. Michael Vallon, Animal Services Veterinarian, said. “We do have one that’s tested positive for parvo and is showing mild symptoms of the virus. We are going to start treatment here shortly.”

“The vaccines, the spay and neuter, heartworm tests, making sure they are healthy is going to be expensive,” Hillyer said.

The dogs will be monitored, the one suffering from parvo is receiving treatment of antibiotics and antinausea medication while an investigation is underway.

The big problem is there is no room for them.

“We need space,” Hillyer said. “All of our kennels are full and as of a half hour ago, we have three dogs outside waiting for dogs to leave so that we can kind of backfill the kennels.”

Due to the one dog being infected with parvo, this means extra care and a dedicated space just for these dogs putting even more strain on the shelter.

“We have not had to euthanize for space for many, many years,” Hillyer said. “We don’t want to ever have to go that route.”

That’s why they are asking you to foster or adopt to make room while they await more information from the judge.

“The best thing possible would be that they would be surrendered but until the investigation comes to a close, we don’t have any rights to these animals so we simply have to take care of them,” Hillyer said.

The shelter provides kennels, food, and medical care for people who foster.

You can also donate to the shelter.

They are also in need of volunteers. They say they need people to help walk the dogs and get them out of kennels.

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