Tuesday, February 15, 2011

19 dogs taken from overheated trailer

By: Kate Harrison & By: Pam Sohn

Nineteen quiet but frightened Chihuahuas sniffed the air timidly as they were unloaded one by one from McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center trucks Monday afternoon.

The dogs, rescued earlier in the afternoon from a trailer in Hixson where a kerosene heater had raised the temperature to 101 degrees Fahrenheit, represent a case of animal hoarding, according to Karen Walsh, McKamey's executive director.

"The dogs may look normal, but because of ammonia issues [from living in excrement] they may have internal problems that you don't notice right off the bat. There were feces and urine all over the floors," she said. "And some of these dogs have nails way too long, two have eye issues and ear issues."

The dogs' owners, Winston Andrew O'Dell and Tonya Middleton, tell a different story.

"I love my dogs to death, and I'm going to do whatever I got to do to get my dogs back," O'Dell said. "I think McKamey sticks their noses where they don't belong."..." More


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