Getting Dogs Off Chains

Dear Valued Friend of Guardians of Rescue,

It's time again to share just some of Guardians' work over the past few months. 

We call our project here "Getting Dogs Off Chains", and we do a lot of that, by getting buy-in from the dogs' caretakers to build secure runs and kennels equipped with sturdy insulated doghouses. But as we've described in the past, under this umbrella are included supplying food, dog beds and other supplies to dogs in need, and distributing insulated shelters for outside community cat colonies.  All these activities are in the same spirit of uplifting animals' lives above the zero-to-marginal comfort many have lived with for so long.

You may also know that Guardians responds to many types of emargencies and needs, including: disaster response, reuniting veterans with pets they've rescued while on deployment overseas and rescuing animals caught in a life of neglect and abuse, such as clearing out puppy mill and hoarding situations.

Recently, we were asked to help out in a terrible abuse case in Colbert County, Alabama 

Debra Jane Catledge, of Barton, was charged with animal cruelty in late September, after 28 dead horses were found on her property in various states of decomposition. Eighteen horses were confiscated from her and are currently being cared for by Colbert Animal Services. Forty-six dogs were also taken from her property in September, many were malnourished.

Guardian KB responded to the County's request for help from Guardians with this big case after Colbert County couldn’t find room for all the dogs last October. She described the dogs' conditions—

KB said many dogs had infections, parasites and heartworms when they arrived.

“They had live bugs crawling on them,...there were some dead cockroaches in their ear debris, and really bad yeast infections."

One of the dog's fur had extreme matting that caused her leg to stick to the side of her body, restricting her movement."

KB added: “She was three times her actual size with all that hair imprisoning her."

Fittingly, as Catledge was waiting for her bench trial on misdemeanor animal abuse charges to begin, the charges were upgraded by a grand jury. She now is indicted on several felony and misdemeanor charges 

Colbert County Animal Control Director Corey Speegle said this case is one of the worst he has ever seen. Catledge remains in jail on an $80,000 bond, with a court date set for June 20. We hope this abuser gets what she deserves. The prosecution is motivated to do that. We still have four of the dogs in our care, and we'll be following this trial closely. 

The wheels of justice are turning on this case, but the cases. sadly, never end. Guardians is often asked to help with animals in areas where there are little if any animal services agencies. In just the past few months we've also:

• trapped and saved several Kentucky cats whose companions had been shot and killed with BB guns
• rescued 14 dogs from an abusive backyard breeder in Kentucky
• saved a pregnant cat (and ultimately, her kittens) who had been freezing, alone, hiding in a bush
• saved 17 cats and two small dogs who lost their home in a home foreclosure, with nowhere to go.  

And that's just a few of the many desperate calls we've received since we last wrote. Guardians can only answer these pleas for help with the support of many kind people. We hope you are proud of helping to make this life-saving and uplifting work possible. Many animals who had seemed doomed, instead have good lives because of your caring and support. 

Together we save them,

Guardians of Rescue

Links:

• Guardians website