A flood of “giant” dogs and a flock of 30 to 40 birds, the result of animals seized from a “hoarding” case, has inundated the Cheyenne Animal Shelter in recent days, a shelter spokeswoman told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
Shelter branding Director Niki Harrison told Cowboy State Daily that this week, 58 “giant” dogs and 30 to 40 birds have arrived at the center since the owner willingly surrendered the animals.
“We’re working through vetting and getting everybody checked out, but these dogs came at a time when we already had 40 dogs available for adoption and we’re in the middle of kitten season kicking off,” Harrison said.
In an email sent to Cheyenne Animal Shelter supporters, CEO Britney Tennant called the hoarding case “one of the biggest challenges [she has] ever faced.”
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it – these animals have a rough road ahead,” Tennant wrote. “The dogs are undersocialized, unaccustomed to living as house pets, filthy, and generally unwilling or unable to walk on leashes.”
The surrendered dogs included St. Bernards, Great Pyrenees, Catahoula Leopard dogs and bullmastiffs.
As of Wednesday, there were around 30 dogs available for adoption or fostering at the animal shelter, not including the dogs from the hoarding case. Those animals will still need to be checked by staff veterinarians to ensure they are healthy enough to be around other dogs or people.
However, Harrison did note that none of the animals from the hoarding case have had to be killed due to illness. The animals are are timid and dirty, but overall, seem sweet, she said.
The shelter has also slashed its adoption fees for all adult dogs to $99 in order to drum up interest in potential new owners.
“We are also opening the shelter up and letting people come on by, walk through and if they’re interested in one of the animals, you can do a meet and greet then with their pets,” Harrison said. “We’ve had a really great response so far. We’ve had a lot of people show up and support us.”
There are also at least four dogs in the shelter that are pregnant and Harrison said it would be great if they could be fostered in a home that would allow them to have their puppies in a warm, safe house.
Harrison said that the shelter is working with some of its partners, including Cheyenne’s Black Dog Animal Rescue, to transfer some of the dogs out to free up space, but called on anyone interested in helping animals to consider adopting, fostering or donating to help the creatures in need.
“Our hope is we’re a safe place to land on a long road for these animals, as far as finding a home and attention they deserve,” she said.
