Animal advocates rush to save more than 200 dogs in Mississippi before winter storm
JACKSON, Miss. — Animal advocates are racing to save more than 200 dogs from a rural Mississippi property before a massive winter storm hits the country Friday.
Paws of War, a New York-based nonprofit that rescues animals and places them with veterans and first responders, is helping lead the charge.
Robert Misseri, co-founder of the organization, said his team arrived at the property, located in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Wednesday.
He described it as a “house of horrors,” with rotting dog remains in the yard and feces everywhere. The dogs, he said, lived both inside and outside a house.
“It’s rewarding to see them leave the property for the first time, knowing that eventually they’ll end up on someone’s couch. But to think that they’ve been suffering up there all these years in silence,” Misseri said before trailing off.
Misseri said the Lee County Sheriff’s Office asked Paws of War to help rehome the animals. Thursday evening, nine shelters had welcomed around sixty dogs. Paws of War sent several trucks to the property to transport 45 dogs back to New York.
Thirteen of the dogs are now at the Northshore Humane Society in Covington, Louisiana. The humane society’s team traveled more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) to the Tupelo, Mississippi, area on Wednesday for what it dubbed “Operation: Tupelo Tails.”
“Many of these dogs have scars on their faces, which proves they were probably fighting with other dogs for food,” said Scott Bernier, CEO of the Northshore Humane Society. “So it’s a bad state. It’s not something we like to see.”
Scout Cannizzaro, a veterinary technician at the Northshore Humane Society, said some of the dogs suffered from upper respiratory infections and skin problems. Bernier said he also expects some dogs to have heartworm.
The humane society is now trying to place as many dogs as possible in foster homes because their building is old and doesn’t retain heat well. However, Bernier said any animals left at the shelter when the storm hits will be warm and safe.
The Paws of War will work through the night to try to find shelter for the remaining dogs before the storm hits, Misseri said. His team also continues to search the area for nervous dogs that have run away, and he said the number of dogs to be rescued could reach 300.
He said that no matter what, he would not allow the dogs to be left outside during the storm. He’s asking other shelters to come forward and take some of the dogs.
“We weren’t prepared for this,” he said.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a message Thursday.
