Puppy mill dogs in need of love

KENNEWICK -- Nala sat in the corner of her pen at a Kennewick shelter, cautiously watching as an employee leaned over a short concrete wall to check on the fluffy white dog.

A few steps away, Kate and Simba barked loudly and paced in their separate, neighboring chain-link pens, along with other homeless dogs at the Benton-Franklin Humane Society.

And, in a quiet room near the front entrance of the shelter, Nikko was curled up in her kennel, recovering from a recent hernia surgery.

"We call her Ducky, because she sounds like a duck when she barks," said Mary Anne Smith-Fewell, kennel staff and volunteer coordinator at the Humane Society.

The four dogs are among the 371 American Eskimos seized from an east Kennewick kennel in May after being found living in deplorable conditions and make-shift cages, including boxes, crates and overturned shopping carts covered by plywood.

Humane Society officials called it one of the largest and worst puppy mills they had seen in the nation.

Six months later, dozens of dogs are still in shelters in Washington, Oregon and even Montana waiting to be adopted and welcomed into new, loving homes.

"We were hoping to place all of them by now, but they're here until we can find them a home -- or a foster home," said Ed Dawson, Humane Society operations manager in the Tri-Cities. "We continue to work with them. ... We really think the best for the remaining four is a foster home situation until they get adopted so they're able to get more care than what we're able to give them here."

The Kennewick shelter took in 10 of the American Eskimo adults and 10 puppies. Nala and Nikko, both females, and Simba, a male, are about 4 to 5 years old, while Kate likely is about 2.

They are all a little shy, cower a bit if someone tries to touch them, and are still trying to learn how to walk on a leash. Kate, however, is energetic and even does flips in her pen when she gets excited, Smith-Fewell said.

The majority of the dogs still waiting for new homes share similar traits and need owners who are patient and willing to put in the time and effort needed to make them more socialized.

"These dogs were born into an environment of neglect and squalor and the fact that they can even be expected to regain trust with a human is something that is pretty spectacular for these creatures to possess," said Dan Paul, Washington state director for The Humane Society of the United States. "But a full recovery, especially in a case of this magnitude, is not always a guarantee and a timetable for recovery is not absolute."

Not all the adoptions have been successful, shelter officials admit.

But volunteers have spent numerous hours working with the dogs to get them ready to become good pets.

"We had adults who were terrified of people, so we had staff (and) volunteers sit and read to them without approaching them to make them feel comfortable in the presence of a human," Divya Kumar, spokeswoman for the Seattle Humane Society, said in an e-mail to the Herald. "Slowly but steadily we made progress, and some of them turned out to be fabulous dogs who just needed time to recover from their traumatic experiences."

Richard and Val Hayes of Finley know a little extra love and attention was responsible for a significant change in the 10-year-old American Eskimo they adopted from the Benton-Franklin Humane Society.

"We had some real issues when we first got her, but now she just literally thrives on the two walks she gets every day, her appetite is voracious and she's making tremendous progress," said Richard Hayes.

The Humane Society of the United States was called in to help lead the seizure of hundreds of dogs found at Ella Stewart's home at 511 E. 27th Ave. The number needing homes, however, grew in the days following the rescue when several puppies were born.

Benton County sheriff's officials sought help after deputies found the dogs living in cages caked with feces and soaked with urine.

Stewart, 66, has owned Sun Valley Kennel since 1967 and was reportedly trying to breed miniature or toy American Eskimo dogs. She has since been charged with one count of first-degree animal cruelty, a felony, and nine gross misdemeanor counts of second-degree animal cruelty. Her trial is set for Jan. 11 in Benton County Superior Court.

Detectives, deputies and about 50 specially trained volunteers from various animal rescue groups spent a day on Stewart's two-acre property removing dogs that were suffering from malnutrition, urine burns and overgrown claws.

Court documents detailed how one dog was missing a left hind paw, another didn't have a left eye and yet another was malnourished and dehydrated but trying to feed nine newborn puppies.

The conditions of five dogs were so bad they had to be euthanized after the rescue.

After briefly housing the surviving dogs at the Benton County fairgrounds and giving them complete medical checkups, they were transferred to 11 shelters and rescue groups in Northwest.

Animal lovers were anxious to provide homes for the rescued pups, with many calling or e-mailing the Herald and area shelters. All were warned that many of the older dogs were going to need a lot of work to become socialized, house trained and used to a human's touch.

The puppies were the first to be adopted, said Becky French, director of shelter operations for the Blue Mountain Humane Society.

The Walla Walla shelter took in 13 dogs and five puppies, then had another eight puppies born at the shelter, she said. All but one with cancer went to new homes, she said.

It's not known exactly how many of the rescued dogs are still waiting to be adopted. But a quick check online at Petfinder.com and calls to some of the original rescue groups show at least four dozen remain homeless.

PAWS in Lynwood adopted 33 of the 34 dogs they took. The Spokane Humane Society also has just one of their 51 Eskimos left, and the Multnomah County (Oregon) Humane Society has one left of the 10 they received.

Some shelters, like the Seattle Humane Society and the Oregon Humane Society, ended up transferring some of the dogs they couldn't place to other shelters or American Eskimo rescue groups.

The Seattle Humane Society took 93 dogs to its shelter and was able to get 60 adopted, Kumar said. Twenty-two dogs were sent to rescue groups and 11 are still at the shelter.

In Portland, the Oregon Humane Society took in 95 dogs and found homes for all but 19, said spokeswoman Barbara Baugnon. Those were sent to other shelters and all have been placed in new homes, she said.

One dog, a 4-year-old male named Faine, that was adopted was returned to the shelter Oct. 5 because he was biting, running into walls and spinning uncontrollably, Baugnon said.

Faine's going to need a quiet home with a patient owner willing to work with him, but Baugnon said they'll keep working with him until they find him the right home.

The other 18 dogs just need more time adjusting.

"Dogs do have an amazing capacity to move beyond cruelty and abuse," said Paul, from the HSUS. "They just need someone to show them love."

In the Tri-Cities, the Hayes family adopted Josie after she was featured in a Herald story in mid-July. Josie, then named Gertie, was about to have surgery to remove some tumors.

Dawson, the shelter's operation manager, shared her story because he wanted to make sure she found a good home to go to after the surgery. At the time, they thought the tumors might have been cancerous, and he wanted her to have a good end to her life.

Josie's surgery went well, the tumors turned out to be non-cancerous, and she was taken home by the couple to recover. It was her third surgery. She also had to have all her teeth pulled because they were rotting and she had a uterine infection.

At first Josie wasn't sure about her new home, walking on a leash or even running on the grass. Val Hayes said she even had to teach Josie how to climb stairs by putting each paw on a step and moving her through the motions.

"When we got her, we were afraid she couldn't walk," Richard Hayes said. "It's really nice to see her having that much fun running. ... It took her a little while to get used to the freedom."

The Hayeses have three cats -- Josie's ignored them from the start -- and two other dogs, a 7-year-old yellow Lab named Maggie, and Sissy, an 11-year-old Lab-Springer spaniel mix. The couple say they think having the other dogs helped Josie learn how to be a dog.

"She fell in love with Maggie and she just kind of watched them do the things they do," Richard Hayes said.

It may be daunting to take on a special-needs dog, but Josie's now part of the family and the couple said they wouldn't have it any other way. Val said she'd adopt the other four at the Kennewick shelter if she didn't already have a full house.

"The rewards of taking the time necessary to bring them out of their funk are well worth it," Richard Hayes said.

To see the dogs still needing homes, go to bfhs.com or petfinder.com and search for the American Eskimo dogs in your Zip code area.

-- Paula Horton: 582-1556; phorton@tricityherald.com