Answering the Call for Animals in Need
HSMO is able to rescue these and other animals in need and help them find their forever homes thanks to you.
Three visits over eight years and more than 200 animals rescued. That is the result of the Humane Society of Missouri's Animal Cruelty Taskforce efforts on a single property in Bates County.
Each time, investigators discovered animals in living conditions so foul and filthy it shocked longtime investigators. The pungent odor of urine and feces permeated not only the house but also the entire property around the home.
This call in February by the Sheriff's Office brought HSMO investigators face to face with 41 dogs and cats in crates too small for them to move around in or to fully stand. The poor animals lived in crates stacked one on top of the other, with little clean water. Their crates, filled with piles of soiled newspaper, shrank each time the owner threw new paper on top of old.
The home lacked proper heat, so the owner used space heaters. Unfortunately, some of those heaters were placed dangerously close to the stacked crates subjecting the animals inside to constant, inescapable heat.
As the deputies arrested the property owner, HSMO investigators began the task of removing the animals and transporting them back to HSMO's Macklind facility. HSMO veterinarians carefully examined each animal and began treatments for conditions ranging from skin and eye ailments to burns resulting from the space heaters.
In this case, like all cases of criminal-level animal abuse, HSMO continues to fight for justice for these innocent animals. HSMO is working with local police and prosecutors to hold the property owner to account for the abuse and neglect of her animals, and is trying to prevent her from owning any animals in the future.
While these animals have all gone to new forever homes, HSMO is ready to respond to the next call and each call after that for animals in need. It is because of donors like you that each time the phone rings HSMO is able to respond and protect animals in dangerous and inhumane situations.
Your future gifts ensure we can continue helping animals get a second chance. We can help you find the right gift for you. Contact Arthur Hailand at ahailand@hsmo.org or 314-951-1584 to get started.