FRANKLIN COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV.com) – The Humane Society of Missouri rescued 55 dogs from a property in Franklin County Tuesday.
The dogs, most of which are Basset Hounds, were mostly in crates and were sitting in their own urine and feces. Authorities believe they had not been cared for since at least Sunday.
“It just breaks your heart. It can make you angry,” said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations for the Humane Society of Missouri.
The owner of the property was believed to be breeding the dogs, was arrested last week on a warrant out of Iowa for fraudulent practices.
“We had actually been to this property a month ago perhaps right after they had opened, started setting up this facility so were aware animals were housed there and we had in fact alerted Missouri department of agriculture because we felt that there was perhaps some unlicensed breeding going on so they could start an investigation also,” said Hill.
Hill said there has been a slight increase in rescues over the last couple months, but it’s not clear if that’s due to the pandemic.
In the last 11 months, the Humane Society’s animal cruelty task force has been on 262 rescues across Missouri, rescuing 963 animals.
The animals will be held at the Humane Society’s headquarters in South City pending further court action. It is unknown when they will be available for adoption.
The Humane Society of Missouri posted a Facebook live of the dogs receiving care.
