The Emporia Gazette

February 13, 2012

• Headlines
• Sports
• Forums
• Weather
• Classifieds

• Help
• Log in
• Home

• E-mail story
• Post a comment
• iPod friendly version

Labrador retrievers are No. 1.

The American Kennel Club ranked them as the most popular dog in the United States for 2007.

They’re also the No. 1 dog in animal shelters across the country.

“That is the biggest breed that goes through shelters,” said Donita Schimmelpfenig, president of the H. Dale Buck Fund and animal control officer for the City of Madison. “People think the puppies are cute and they grow up to be big dogs. The bigger the breed, the longer it takes them to mature.”

And if they’re not well-matched for size and activity levels of their owners, they often are dumped at shelters or left to survive on their own.

“There’s nothing more unadoptable than an unruly, large dog,” Buck Fund Executive Director MiChielle Cooper added.

The six puppies found abandoned on March 4 showed that Lab blood was a substantial part of their mixed breed; the other breeding has not been identified.

The pups are estimated to have been about one day old when Emporia school district technology employee Alex Johnston investigated a mewling sound coming from a Dumpster at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. He discovered one puppy that had crawled out of a burlap bag tossed next to the trash container; five siblings remained in the bag, and Johnston rescued all of them.

They now are being cared for by veterans from the H. Dale Buck Fund for Animals.

“We have them split up into two of our most experienced foster homes,” Cooper said.

Pet foster parent Lola Walker said that her three charges are “doing wonderful. They’re doing fantastic.”

They’re drinking enormous amounts of Hartz milk replacement and growing plump and healthy.

“All they want to do is eat and sleep, of course,” Walker said.

Schimmelpfenig’s three are thriving, too, and have opened their eyes, something that puppies usually do around the age of 10 days.

As the puppies grow, additional foster homes will be needed. Because of their size and frequent feedings, they will fare better if they are split into groups of two at a maximum.

Information about fostering a puppy may be had by calling 343-3377. Applications also are being taken to adopt the puppies and animal rescue groups in Kansas City also have offered to help with placements. Donations for the pups’ milk, supplies, and veterinary treatment also are being accepted.

“We actually have already gotten five application requests for them,” Cooper said. “Of course, the most popular one is the little chocolate female, so it’s going to be a real contest to see who gets her.”

The adoption process is thorough to ensure that each animal goes to its best possible match with humans and home environment. Buck representatives do a home site visit to inspect for secure fencing and to get a feel for the environment. Applicants also must complete a check form to take to their veterinarians for a history of how applicants care for previous pets.

Each animal will have had its first puppy vaccinations, dewormings and other medical safeguards, its “well check” physical by a veterinarian and, most important, will have been neutered or spayed.

“We actually have a vet that specializes in pediatric spaying and neutering,” Cooper said.

The procedures are done in Kansas City.

The $130 adoption cost covers a relatively small portion of the actual expenses incurred before being turned over to a new owner, she said.

“This is a value beyond comparison,” Cooper said.

All of the Buck volunteers emphasized that spaying and neutering pets is a crucial part of pet ownership and the most effective way to ensure that unwanted animals are not mistreated or abused, as the six abandoned puppies were. Buck’s Spay-and-Neuter program offers financial help for current pet owners who cannot afford to have the procedures.

“The best thing we could do is get the word out there, spay and neuter,” Schimmelpfenig said. “That’s just such a big thing so we don’t have all these unwanted litters.”

The pups who were abandoned could have been taken to the animal shelter or the Buck Fund that cold morning, instead of being ditched in a burlap bag by a Dumpster.

“People who will do this to puppies will be cruel to humans as well,” Cooper said. “It’s amazing how many links to domestic violence there are to people who are cruel or will abuse animals. It’s just an incredible link.”

She and others harbor a hope that the owner who dumped the puppies will be found, turned over to police, and prosecuted.

Kansas statutes are in place to prosecute anyone who intentionally kills, maims, mutilates or abandons an animal in a place “without leaving provisions for its proper care,” Schimmelpfenig said.

“In Kansas now, it is not a misdemeanor, it is a felony,” she said.

Conviction carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and 1 year in jail.

People who have information or want to give an anonymous tip about the puppies’ owner may call the Buck Fund, 343-3377, which will get in touch with local police.

A reward has been offered by an anonymous donor for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the owner or owners.

Dorothy Matile, long-time Buck affiliate, is optimistic that information could be forthcoming, just as it was several years ago in a similar puppy-dumping case.

“I got an anonymous call about who did it,” Matile said. “He was prosecuted and we got money from him. ... The court grabbed hold of his money when he got his income tax (refund). I was floored when we got $800 back.”