Friday, January 22, 2010

Dreampower Animal Rescue Overwhelmed With Dogs

By: McKenzie Martin

Dreampower Animal Rescue needs your help. In the past few weeks the organization has taken in more than 20 dogs as the result of two different animal hoarding cases in El Paso County.

Some of the dogs need temporary homes, others permanent, and officials at Dreampower say they are overwhelmed.

"There were over 50 at the property," said Aubrey Eastman, Director of Operations at Dreampower. That property was at a home off Scott Road in Calhan. When deputies went to the home last week on a complaint of animal cruelty they say 71-year-old Norma Scott pulled a gun on them. She was arrested and Dreampower says she was hoarding dogs.

"It's a mental illness and people don't realize that they are doing anything negative to the dogs. They think they are the best home and they just keep accumulating them to the point where they can't handle all the feeding and care," said Eastman.

Nine of the dogs went to Dreampower including an 8-week-old puppy. Others went to the Humane Society and other shelters in the area.

"They were living in their own feces, eating out of a truck and living on an abandoned motor home," Eastman said.

Volunteers at Dreampower will do their best to get them socialized so they can hopefully all find new homes, while the investigation against their owner continues..." More