By Josh Margolis
CHINOOK, Mont. (NMB) – The P.A.W.S. of Chinook Animal Shelter is seeking any and all help from the public after rescuing over 20 dogs from the property of a man who had passed away.
Shelter Manager Alissa Hewitt says a team of volunteers rescued the dogs on Monday after receiving a call from the Blaine County Sheriff’s office, and says they will all require a great deal of care.
“A lot of these dogs are limping. We know a few had gotten hit by a car the day that they got out of the yard. A few of them still have some porcupine quills, they have really bad fleas, some of them are missing some toes, I guess from traps that were set and things. They need medical care, for sure. They’ve never been vaccinated or fixed, so all of that is going to add up really fast for us.”
The dogs are being taken care of at the shelter, as even though they only have five kennels, they have made it their mission to help them in whatever ways they can.
“We’re so low on volunteers that in order to give everybody the time they need to make them comfortable, we need to spend time with them. It’s really hard to divide your time among 30 dogs. So there’s a lot of reasons why this is really putting a cramp on us. But it doesn’t stop us, ever, so we’re looking forward to getting this moving.”
Hewitt says people can help in ways big or small, from volunteering a bit of time to comfort the dogs to providing gift cards for pet food to helping with the cost of veterinary service.
The dogs are not currently available for fostering or adoption and may have a ways to go before they get to that point.
“This is absolutely unprecedented for PAWS. PAWS has never taken on anything as big as this. So right now, we’re just trying to get our bearings, figure out what we need to do, figure out who needs medical attention now, getting everybody vaccinated, so we’re just taking it one step at a time.”
Hewitt says this situation can be prevented in the future if people make sure to have a plan for what happens to animals in the case of the death of the owner.
For more information on how to help, message P.A.W.S. on Facebook or through their website PAWSofChinook.org. You can also call 406-357-3316.
