Dogs from alleged puppy mill transported for treatment
HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — After an alleged puppy mill in Gibson County was raided Wednesday morning, a rescue squad transferred the animals to a shelter in Middle Tennessee. The Gibson County Sheriff’s Department worked with the nonprofit group Animal Rescue Corps to save the dogs. Investigators said they were tipped off by someone looking to buy a dog from the home in Humboldt. An undercover sting by the nonprofit revealed poodles, Yorkies and Chihuahua’s living in crates and wooden boxes with almost no ventilation. President and founder of Animal Rescue Corps Scotlund Haisley described the conditions as typical of a puppy mill where profit is placed over the well-being of its dogs. He said he would rate this mill as an eight out of 10 on the worst he has ever seen. Their owner officially handed over custody to Animal Rescue Corps Wednesday night. The priority now is nursing them back to health. “The name of this operation is ‘home for the holidays,’ and that is exactly what we intend on doing is getting them into permanent loving homes and allowing them to be dogs for the very first time,” Haisley said. The nonprofit said the dogs were taken to an emergency shelter in Lebanon, Tenn., to better assess their conditions. “We’ll be bringing them back to our emergency shelter now where our veterinarians will be further examining the dogs and working throughout the night to treat them and bring them back to life,” Haisley said. Haisley described the conditions as incredibly unsanitary. “The majority of the animals had significant issues — extremely matted, internal and external parasites, some very thin if not emaciated dogs,” Haisley said. Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas and his deputies helped with the rescue. He described the conditions as some of the worst he has seen in his career. “You could feel the ammonia burning across your face — the feces, the urine — it’s horrible,” Thomas said. Haisley said once the dogs are examined, the nonprofit will work with placement partners in the region and beyond to place the dogs in temporary homes. He said it could take weeks for the dogs, ranging from one day to 10-years-old, to be healthy enough to be adopted. Sheriff Thomas said animal abuse and neglect charges will be filed against the suspect in custody first thing Thursday morning. He said charges will be filed for each of the 95 dogs.
