PERRY, Ark. — Trying to do too much of a good thing, can sometimes become a bad thing.
“She started out with good intentions but it just got away from her,” Charity Henson, a volunteer with Arkansas Animal Alliance said.
Walking up to the 40 acre property in Perry, Terri Sanders and Charity Henson could hardly believe what they saw.
“One week old puppies, no electricity,” they said looking at videos they recorded.
The women witnessed four litters of puppies.
On their count there were 73 dogs, mostly healthy, but some injured — with more dogs roaming the woods.
“The county doesn’t have a shelter so where are all these dogs going to go? They either get dumped or somebody hoards them,” Henson said.
They say this is one of the biggest hoarding cases they’ve seen in Arkansas.
“She knows she has a problem.”
The owner of the dogs allowed the volunteers on her property. She’s disabled and on a fixed income.
“She has no electricity at this time so she’s been sleeping outside with the dogs,” Henson said.
They’ve shared videos with us in hopes of finding a solution, since they say this is the third time the woman has received intervention. Two other times the animals were seized by law enforcement.
“If we go and help her get all these dogs re-homed, vetted, whatever, what’s going to stop her from doing it again?” Henson said.
Since the dogs are likely heartworm positive, few are fixed or socialized, the women say it could cost up to 20,000 dollars to rescue them all.
A hefty price, for what began as free.
The Arkansas Animal Alliance will be going to the property next week to see if they can at least help by taking the litters of puppies.
The Perry County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the situation and we’re told a deputy is working on it.
Arkansas Animal Alliance is teaming up with Southern Hearts Kennel. If you’re interested in helping the groups, click here.
