30 dogs saved after house collapse

By Curt Peterson

Last Tuesday, Aug. 6, local fire departments and emergency personnel responded to the collapsed roof of a residence on Brooklyn Road in Mount Tabor. What they found was almost 30 dogs trapped in the house.  One died in the incident.

The Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) came to the rescue with a collection of kennels. Making two trips, they were able to get all the survivors to their shelter in Pittsford. According to RCHS Director Beth Saradanian, the dogs are medium-sized, un-neutered hound-mixes, and they may have been inbreeding within the group.

“We really do have our hands full with this lot,” Saradanian told the Mountain Times. “Fortunately other area humane societies and local veterinarians are helping us deal with the situation.”

While not in as bad condition as other large group rescues, some of the Mt. Tabor dogs do have fleas, are thin and dehydrated, she reported.

“We’re working to get them hydrated, vaccinated, tested for Lyme disease and other tick-related ailments, neutered and in good condition before we even think about adopting them out,” Saradanian said. “They were surrendered for adoption by their owners.”

She said there would be no description or identification of the pervious owners for privacy reasons.

The house appeared to have been collapsing bit by bit for some time, she added.

Handling this many rescued dogs would be a challenge for any non-profit organization. Saradanian said they have many volunteers, the vets and other humane societies are donating their services, and donors are being generous with funds and supplies.

“Once we get the dogs settled, we will probably be seeking a grant to help with funding this rescue,” she said. “We want to thank our RCHS community for coming so quickly and generously to our aid.”

Interested people can visit the RCHS website where they can find ways to donate supplies or money to help with this important project.

“There’s a wish-list of our needs,” Saradanian said, “and we have Venmo to make donating money very easy,” she added.