A Hero’s Rescue in Pocahontas
Officers of the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Department and Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), rescued 33 animals from desperate conditions at a property in Pocahontas, after Hardeman County Animal Control responded to a tip that multiple dogs exhibiting signs of mange and poor health were being kept in a trailer. All of the animals were surrendered to ARC.
Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), a national animal protection nonprofit, has provided large-scale animal rescue for communities that lack resources to address abuse.
When ARC responders arrived they found 29 dogs, including a litter of puppies, and four cats. The cats were living in small feces and maggot-filled crates; the dogs were loose both inside and outside the trailer. Because of the lack of veterinary care and the unsanitary, inhumane living conditions, the animals are suffering from a range of medical issues, including broken bones, severe anemia, high ammonia exposure, mange, severe and painful disease, overgrown nails, fur loss, skin inflammation, ear and eye infections and injuries, and severe internal and external parasites (including fleas and ticks).
“Not all victims are humans, sometimes it’s animals who need our assistance,” said Hardeman County Investigator, Craig Collins. “We’re very grateful that Animal Rescue Corps was able to assist these poor animals of our community.”
“We arrived just in time,” said Tim Woodward, ARC’s Executive Director. “This was a life and death situation for some of these animals; we didn’t have a minute to spare.”
The planning for this rescue, dubbed Operation Dead End, began when the Hardeman County Animal Control, under the leadership of Mayor Todd Pulse, and the Sheriff’s Office, under the leadership of Sheriff John Doolen, received a tip and visited the property. Once they witnessed the conditions in which the animals were kept, they reached out to ARC. ARC immediately began assembling tactical equipment and a field team and preparing their facility for the incoming animals.
Animal Rescue Corps managed the safe extraction of every animal and transported all of the animals to ARC’s Rescue Center in Gallatin, Tenn., about 40 minutes northeast of Nashville. Each animal is receiving a thorough veterinary exam, appropriate vaccinations, and any necessary medical treatments until they are matched and transported to trusted shelter and rescue partner organizations that will ultimately adopt them into loving homes. For people wishing to foster or adopt, ARC will publish its list of shelter and rescue placement partners on its Facebook page once the animals are transferred to these groups.
To donate or volunteer to help these and other animals in need, visit animalrescuecorps.org