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Several rescued dogs now in Bella Vista
DOUGLAS GRANT Staff Writer
douglasg@nwanews.com
Nine of more than 300 dogs rescued March 23 from a home in Logan County have found their way to Bella Vista via staff at the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.
Animal-welfare officials rescued 310 dogs and 36 miniature horses from an 82-acre site owned by an elderly couple south of Paris, Ark.
Forty to 50 members of emergency response teams from the Humane Society of the United States, United Animal Nations and PetSmart Charities converged on Paris to begin processing and treating the animals removed from the property near the Driggs community, about halfway between Paris and Magazine on Arkansas Highway 109.
The dogs were of various breeds, including Pomeranians,
Yorkshire terriers, miniature collies, poodles, spaniels and pugs.
In addition to the dogs and horses, crews picked up several cats, birds and turtles that were inside the couple's home.
The new arrivals at the local facility include a 140-pound Akita, two Pekinese,
two Yorkshire terriers, two King Charles Cavalier spaniels, one Pomeranian and one poodle.
The spaniels, the Pomeranian and the Akita are, for the most part, in good physical condition. However, all are showing some signs of shyness and fear in their new surroundings.
The Akita is especially antsy, probably as a result of its being nearly blind and spending as many as four years cooped up in a small enclosure, said Bella Vista Animal Shelter Manager Donna Miles, who drove to the Logan County Fairgrounds on March 25 to get the dogs. When a worker attempted to place the large dog in a fenced-in area, the Akita would not go in.
The Yorkies and the poodle will need a doctor's care. One Yorkie has a broken lower jaw, and the other has no lower jaw at all.
Miles said she doesn't know how fresh the break is and hopes a veterinarian can set it. As for the other little dog, she said he can eat as long as his food is the consistency of gruel.
The poodle had a seizure after it was removed from the property and will require a vet's examination and, hopefully, a health certificate making it available for adoption.
The three dogs went to Sugar Creek Animal Hospital in Bentonville last Thursday. The Akita had an appointment Friday, and then everybody will go in this week to be spayed or neutered and have their teeth cleaned, if needed.
Once cleared by a veterinarian and Miles' staff, the dogs will be put up for adoption. "They will cost a little bit more to adopt because of the medical care," she said, "but not a whole lot more."
Only seven dogs will be available, as Miles transferred one spaniel and the Pomeranian to the Benton County Animal Shelter the day they arrived in Bella Vista.