PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – Putnam County Animal Control is asking for the community’s help after the Sheriff’s Office says 29 dogs were taken out of a home that’s the subject of a cruelty case.
Animal Control is now overwhelmed with animals that need foster homes. One of the dogs had to be euthanized, and the 28 other dogs have been added to its overcrowded shelter.
Many of the dogs are thin and require extra care.
Mike Merrill is the founder of Florida Urgent Rescue (FUR). He’s working to network with other organizations, rescues and shelters to find the dogs new homes.
“It’s hard for them to accommodate them, and they have dogs in crates, they have dogs doubled or tripled up in kennels,” Merrill said. “If one rescue can pull two or three dogs that were already in the shelter, and another organization can pull a couple more, we can lighten the load and make room for them.”
Merrill explained why he thinks fostering these dogs is more beneficial than someone adopting them at this time.
“The benefit of being a foster-based rescue is all our animals live in foster homes. We get to learn about their personality, and then figure out who the right match would be as an adopter.”
Merrill says although this is an unfortunate situation it’s not rare.
“This is a really tough time of year for shelters and rescues,” Merrill said. “This is during the holidays. It’s harder to get foster parents. A lot of people don’t think about adopting and there are a lot of people who surrender animals around the holidays.”
A spokesperson for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says this cruelty case is still under investigation.