A Lifetime of Love for Louie
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Stephen Wells, Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
2012

As the waning days of 2010 become more chilly, we at the Animal Legal Defense Fund are reminded of 18 dogs left to struggle in the frigid cold last winter.

Discovered huddled in the unheated trailer of an animal hoarder in North Dakota, the Corgi-Pomeranian mixes were living amid large mounds of feces and urine. A concerned neighbor was attempting to feed the frightened dogs, and water left out for them had turned to ice. Local law enforcement and animal shelter workers agreed it was one of the worst cases of animal neglect they had ever seen.

Louie hoarding rescueTemperatures outside the trailer were below freezing when rescuers from the Souris Valley Animal Shelter arrived. But conditions inside were even worse. "The amount of feces and urine-soaked items was about knee high," says shelter manager Kristine Seabolt. "We could only be in the trailer for a couple of minutes before it got really hard to breathe."

Help ALDF ensure that abusers are held accountable for their crimes by making a special year-end donation toward our work to protect animals.

Prosecuting animal hoarders can be tricky -- but ALDF responded quickly to the local prosecutor's request for assistance, advising her on key elements of the case and enabling authorities to permanently remove the abused dogs from harm's way.

Faced with impressive legal work (even the judge commented on ALDF's thoroughness), the animal abuser pleaded guilty, and the rescued dogs -- like sweet Louie, whose new family describes him as "eager to hand out kisses at all hours!" -- are now living with families in their forever homes, enjoying the love and kindness every animal deserves.


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