DUCK HILL — Twelve lucky dogs now have a chance for a new life after being saved from conditions their rescuer said were “deplorable” in Carroll County.
Off a dirt road near Interstate 55 just outside of Duck Hill is a complex, centered with a chorus of barking dogs watched by calmer animals such as emu and horses. It is the Project Hope Sanctuary, and 12 new residents were relocated there recently from a Carroll County home.
“We are so overwhelmed here we can’t see straight,” said Doll Stanley, director of investigations for In Defense of Animals and Project Hope Sanctuary. “But we received three phone calls about this place. I was here alone, but the calls were so desperate I went to see for myself what was happening.”
According to Annette Carlisle, a clerk in the Carroll County Justice Court, the seizure took place at the property of Charles Applon along County Road 129.
After initially witnessing the animals in June, Stanley went to the home under a seizure order to collect the animals on Aug. 7.
She was accompanied by members of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Jerry Carver said his office received an order from Justice Court Judge Jimmy Avant to go along.
The dogs’ owners claimed the authority of the seizure order had been overstepped, but Avant ruled against them.
“The dogs were seized lawfully,” Carver said.
Stanley said some of the dogs were moved to another property in an attempt to avoid seizure.
She said the environment the dogs were living in was horrid and they were under-fed and under-housed.
“I saw these emaciated dogs chained to tiny shelters with their waters blackened with filth, debris and mosquito larvae,” Stanley said. “Some of them had dried food and slop in their bowls, and some of it just had mold growing all over it.”
According to Stanley, the conditions caused numerous health problems for several of the canines.
“One dog was confined to a cage that was completely infested with maggots,” Stanley said. “The dogs had sores, matted eyes and nearly all of them had developed some sort of skin disorder.”
Stanley said some animal abuse is not intentional but stems from not knowing how to treat an animal.
“The lady that owned these dogs seemed sweet,” Stanley said. “But sometimes people are raised to not prioritize animal well-being, and sometimes they just can’t understand things like the spatial and physical requirements of these animals.”
Project Hope will care for the animals until the possibility of an adoption. Through their affiliation to the national group In Defense of Animals, Project Hope takes overflow of rescued animals to Colorado, where Stanley said many are adopted immediately.
Nine of the dogs tested positive for heartworm, and most had ear problems including mites and yeast infections. One large hound was confined to a travel box made for dogs the size of beagles and terriers.
“She couldn’t even stand up. She was hunched over in the cage,” Stanley said. “She’s finally starting to heal now. She is such a beautiful dog.”
Stanley said the shelter houses 18 emu, two rabbits, a goat, eight pigs, six horses, 35 cats and about 100 dogs.
“People don’t understand that there is no magic wand to wave and solve this problem,” Stanley said. “We don’t have room for many more dogs. It costs a lot of money for us to help these animals, and we do not receive any government funding.”
Stanley said people must think before they adopt a pet.
“It’s just plain selfish to adopt an animal if you can’t afford to take care of it properly,” Stanley said. “Pets need to be spayed and neutered to control the population when there are no homes for them.”
