Seized dogs to be available for adoption
A list of shelters where the animals will be kept and information about adoption will be posted on the Humane Society's Web site later this week. People can also contact Wayne County Animal Control for more information.
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After physical examinations on Wednesday, the 283 dogs – seized from Thornton Kennels in southern Wayne County last Thursday – will go to rescue groups and humane society groups across the region for rehabilitation and adoption, Humane Society of the United States spokeswoman Jordan Crump said.
Over the next few days, the animals will begin social and physical rehabilitation.
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The county is transferring ownership of the dogs to the Humane Society of the United States, county spokeswoman Barbara Arntsen said in a release.
“The Humane Society of the United States strongly urges local law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against the mill owner and bar her from breeding dogs in the future,” the society’s senior director of emergency services, Scotlund Haisley, said in a statement.
The dogs – mostly shih-tzus, chihuahuas and Lhasa apsos – have been treated for infections, Crump said. Three young puppies died the day of the raid. The rest are responding well to treatment, she said.
A "puppy mill" is a dog-breeding operation that mass-produces puppies in factory-style settings for sale at pet stores and over the Internet.
"Just because they're four-legged and they got fur on them, doesn't mean you can kick them around,” Wayne County resident George Wolfe said.
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