The look in her eyes says it all. Dazed, confused, suspicious eight rescued dachshund puppies newly arrived on Long Island from the Deep South have recovered and are now destined for new homes with first responders and veterans.
“The poor guys, they were just so full of parasites and you know, skin diseases, ear mites and very emaciated,” said Kelly Basham, Northeast Operations Manager, Guardians of Rescue. The group nursed all eight back to health so they could be sent from Kentucky to a partner rescue, Paws of War, in Suffolk’s Nesconset.
“At the end of the day, it’s rewarding to know that we make such a difference in the lives of veterans – to be able to give them a companion or service animal – for all the hard work that the Guardians put into these cases. it’s very heartbreaking,” she said of the eight puppies, who are around 11 to 12 weeks old.
“We’re confident they’re all from the same litter,” said Robert Misseri, founder of Paws of War, a non-profit organization.
Blonde, white with tan spots, dark brown with cinnamon spots—and the more traditional reddish coat are among their colors.
Puppies are usually adopted quickly, let alone purebreds — and dachshunds are less common, he said.
About 75% of the dogs housed at Paws of War are adults, Misseri said. It already trains about 30 1-2 year olds and recently took in two 10-week-old Golden Retrievers that were rescued from Ohio.
All adopters must go through a thorough screening process, Misseri said.
“Before we give away a dog, we need to make sure it’s for the right reason.”
Anyone who wants to train their pup to be a service dog can take the group’s free weekly classes—and some graduates continue to attend because of the camaraderie they experience.
Dachshund puppies, named after Santa’s reindeer, play at Paws of War in Nesconset on Tuesday. The eight puppies were rescued from poor living conditions in Mississippi. Photo credit: Howard Schnapp
The horrific way life began for these puppies was only revealed when their Mississippi owner called a coroner last month following the death of her husband, officials said. They found 87 dachshunds in that home, along with a child and an adult, both of whom needed protection services.
“I think what it was — she was just overwhelmed and just couldn’t handle the situation,” said Misty Daniels, director of the local animal shelter, the Amory Humane Society, Mississippi. “Hoarding can be with anything, with objects or animals – it just got out of hand.”
Amory, home to just over 6,500 people according to the US Census, is about 142 miles southeast of Memphis. On Dec. 11, deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office discovered “a fairly large conglomeration of dogs at the residence,” Sheriff Kevin Crook said on Facebook.
“Conditions in the house were bad, to say the least. MPs say the smell was almost unbearable and there was dog feces and stale food throughout the house,” his post said.
The local animal control officer alerted Daniels, whose shelter cannot accommodate more than 100 pets.
She contacted Guardians and other rescue workers, who split up the dachshunds – about half of whom were adults, with some telling tell-tale genetic abnormalities through inbreeding, from deafness or blindness to twisted or crippled legs. Still, Daniels said, “Unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot worse.”
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