Another sickening case of animal neglect in Missouri. This time, heartless owners left their dogs, including six tiny puppies, out in freezing temperatures in a town just north of Kansas City. Thanks to a vigilant neighbor, eight dogs were rescued - three others were not so lucky.
Animal welfare workers had been alerted by the neighbor after the mother dog bit one of the puppies causing it to scream in pain. The neighbor advised that the owner had not properly cared for the dogs as long as she had known them. The neighbor also called the local police.
The pet dogs including a male, a female and six pups about 6 weeks old were left in the cold by owners who did not want the dogs to soil their home. Workers guessed that the pets were mostly forgotten by the owners after they were put outside - it appeared they were fed and given fresh water only sporadically.
A male dog was tethered to a tree by a chain. An emaciated female with puppies was also chained several feet away. The brindle Plotthound mix looked as if she had not been fed properly for months. One rescuer said the dog appeared to be just "skin and bones".
Though there were plastic dogs houses with straw- it seemed that little else was done for the dogs. A neighbor said the dogs seemed starved for both food and attention. Though the male dog appeared well fed, the others did not.
The dog's water dishes were frozen over. And, although there was a large bag of dog food sitting on a back porch, the dogs appeared starving and their food dishes were empty.
When authorities arrived the mother dog and several of her pups were drinking filthy standing water. Thee also witnessed one puppy eating out out of a hole chewed in the bottom of a dog food bag that sat on the porch. It seemed the pups had chewed through the bag to gain access to the food.
Sadly, the owners advised that there originally were 9 puppies but that 3 of the pups had 'disappeared'.
All eight of the pets were taken to a shelter that same evening. All of the rescued pets have been checked out and vaccinated. They are now available for adoption.
Contact this writer at wfhughes2002@aol.com if you are interested in adopting one of the dogs.
Excelsior Springs Friends of Animals assisted in the rescue of these dogs. You may visit ESFOA 's website at www.esfoa.org
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