I looked up info on the shelter and ran across an amazing article from the Humane Society about the woman who runs it. I thought even if we could get the dogs into a local kennel or vet to put a stay on the execution that would buy us more time to make transpo arrangements, which right now seem to be the biggest kink. Anyway, she seems to really care about the animals so maybe we can work something out with her. Article and continued link below:
Osceola, Missouri Animal Control Officer a Hero for Dogs
April 26, 2008
The HSUS
Animal Control Officer Latichia Duffy sees a dog
off to a better life.
On April 17, The Humane Society of the United States deployed personnel to assist with the transport of 47 dogs from an overcrowded shelter in Osceola, Mo. to Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs, Pa.
The dogs were rescued from a hoarding situation and Missouri puppy mills.
With the dogs safely on the road to their new adoptive homes, The HSUS spoke with Osceola's only full-time animal control officer, Latichia Duffy, who works on a shoestring budget with no county animal control in place to offer assistance.
by Pepper Ballard
Osceola, Mo. Animal Control Officer Latichia Duffy is no stranger to overwhelming situations: For the past seven years, the veteran animal welfare worker has used minimal funds to operate a tiny shelter in a location surrounded by nine puppy mills.
Although she's accustomed to adopting out dogs nearly as quickly as the county mills drop them off to her, Duffy only has room for a dozen at a time. So when she learned recently that a St. Clair County couple was hoarding nearly 30 dogs, she realized she needed help.
"My goal in the beginning was to save as many as I could. I never dreamed we would save them all," Duffy said.
After a flurry of phone calls to area shelters, Duffy got connected with The Humane Society of the United States' Animal Rescue team. On Friday, the team and Duffy loaded nearly 50 dogs—Corgis and mixed breeds from the hoarders and other dogs from the mills and shelters—onto The HSUS' 75-foot, custom-built animal transport vehicle. The HSUS then took the dogs to Main Line, a Philadelphia shelter that was featured along with The HSUS on a national talk show that recently highlighted the horrors of puppy mills.
The HSUS
"The stories that we get back
(after a dog has been adopted out)
are so heartwarming."
"She's the one who got this ball rolling. She wasn't too proud to call out for help," said The HSUS' Senior Director of Emergency Services Scotlund Haisley. "She's struggling, with nothing."
Since Duffy is a city animal control officer, she has no jurisdiction over the nine county puppy mills that drop off their unwanted dogs to her. St. Clair County, which is the second largest county in the state, has no animal shelter or animal control workers to come to her aid.
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