JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) put out a call for help from the community, and as always, the community showed up.
Dozens of people lined up outside the shelter Saturday morning to sign up to foster and adopt 130 chihuahuas that were rescued Friday after being found neglected in a Lackawanna home.
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“I’m a registered foster with ACPS. I just fostered two puppies and said ‘No more.’ I saw this call for action so here I am picking up some more puppies,” Tessa Bullock said.
For the past two years, a wife and husband who own a home in the community of the Lackawanna neighborhood have been renting their place out.
RELATED | Homeowners return to property they were renting out to find 130 neglected chihuahuas
When the owners stopped receiving their rental check, they went to the home on Wednesday, only to find out that the tenant had vacated it and left 130 chihuahuas inside.
The homeowners, who asked to remain anonymous, talked to News4JAX about the shocking experience.
“When we arrived, the renters were long gone, but the house was filled with dogs running around. I believe the dogs may have gone a couple of days without food, and we decided to feed them, and then they called the authorities,” the homeowners said.
When authorities arrived at the residence, they found the dogs needed medical attention. They were carried out and placed into a van or bus.
The dogs arrived at the shelter and were immediately treated, along with microchipping.
The odor was horrific, which required rescuers to wear protective masks every time they entered the home.
After rescuing the 130 puppies, ACPS officials posted a call for action on Facebook saying they were “in desperate need of adopters and foster homes,” as the shelter had reached its capacity.
As of 2:40 p.m. Saturday, the line of people wanting to sign up to foster and/or adopt one of the puppies was outside the shelter.
“This is what happens when dogs are not spayed or neutered and that’s why our shelter is so overcrowded, not with just small dogs but all dogs in general. It’s really amazing to see this many people come out and try to help these small dogs in this situation,” Bullock told News4JAX.
ACPS thanked the community for the outpouring of support.
“We’re also absolutely blown away by how many of you have reached out to us asking what we need. The BIGGEST thing we need from our community right now are foster homes—bringing home dogs who have been at the shelter for a bit will not only give them a much-needed break, but it will open kennels and resources for this new crew,” ACPS wrote on Facebook.
The shelter added it needs donations of small-sized collars to help them handle the chihuahuas once they’re medically cleared. Those donations can be sent to or dropped off at the shelter as well.
Anyone who wants to adopt a chihuahua or make a donation can call 904-630-2489 or visit 2020 Forest Street.