News

Rescued dogs find new homes

Blue Ridge Humane Society Connie Kopp holds Sophie.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 27, 2017

The dogs and cats rescued from a hoarding situation in Fletcher are moving from a crowded home to their forever homes.

Before Monday, the Blue Ridge Humane Society had adopted out 13 out of 15 dogs it took in after Henderson County sheriff’s deputies rescued the animals from a home in Fletcher. On Monday morning, Humane Society staffers and volunteers displayed the last two dogs at Shelley’s Jewelry on North Main Street and got takers for both of them.
One is Sophie is a “small white mixed breed” that could be combination of almost any small breed, said Caroline Gunter, chair of the Blue Ridge Humane Society board of directors. The other is Richard Gere, “a charming silver fox whose eyes will have you wishing you were Julia Roberts circa 1990 and whose sweet soul will sweep you off your feet,” according to the Humane Society’s writeup. Both dogs are about 10 years old, veterinarians said.
The animals were gentle and comfortable with people, which has led veterinarians and shelter personnel to speculate that they were, if not well-cared for, not mistreated.
The Humane Society spent an estimated $6,000 on veterinary bills to get the animals ready for adoption. They were spayed or neutered, got shots and had treatment for worms, heartworm and other problems, said Paula Roberts, special events director for the Humane Society.
The 40 animals rescued from the home were taken to the county pound, nursed back to health and then turned over to Blue Ridge Humane Society, Brother Wolf and Charlie’s Angels. The haul from the hoard included one duck, which Humane Society executive director Lutrelle O'Cain is fostering. She named him Gregory Peck.
“We took the most and we were the first to take them,” Roberts said.
Gunter praised the Henderson County Animal Shelter for its work.
“They do an amazing job,” she said. “They just get overlooked. Without the shelter, we couldn’t do our job. We work with them on a day to day basis.”

Brother Wolf in in Henderson County also reported a successful adoption effort.

"We ended up with 12 dogs and out of the 12 dogs that we received 11 of those dogs are being adopted by the fosters," said Sandi Vielbaum, no-kill coordinater for Brother Wolf in Henderson County. "We put a call out to the community and the community was phenomenal. We had people just showing up out of the woodwork filling out applciations to adoot.

"We do have some with medical issues," Vielbaum added. "The most serious one is a pomeranian that's around 11 years old and her front left leg, she just can't get do anything with it. The veterinarian said it was a very old break that was never looked at or fixed. We've already talked with the sheriff's department. We hope to document everything and that's another felony charge."

"We have a poodle and a schnauzer out of that that were so horribly matted that we took layers and layers off," she said. "They probably lost 5 pounds plus underneath they had skin conditions." Two poodles are blind. Investigators with the sheriff's office told Brother Wolf officials that if the blindness was caused by the hoarding situaiton, the owners could face additional charges.