Dogs recovering after mass rescue

IRONTON, Ohio (WSAZ) - A young puppy at Pitiful Paws Rescue in Chesapeake is lucky to be alive.

“I don’t think we could have lived with ourselves leaving him behind that day,” said Executive Director Desiree Flanery.

They call him Spatula, and he is recovering at Pitiful Paws Rescue after being seized from a bad situation. He was among more than 60 dogs rescued last Friday from a residence along state Route 650 in Ironton.

Dozens of emaciated beagles rescued from Lawrence Co. Ohio property

Pitiful Paws and several other animal shelters conducted the seizure with the help of a search warrant from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office.

“They were starving in plain sight and no one seemed to care. And they all have mange so bad, around their eyes is swollen, their joints are all swollen, they’re all losing their hair,” said Flanery.

As of Monday, a majority of those dogs are being cared for at Pitiful Paws. Some of them appear to still be nervous and shaken up from their past experiences.

“They were breeding the dogs, just one after another. There were probably 15-20 dogs that were running loose on the property,” Flanery said.

Flanery hopes the owner will be held responsible. Detective Jason Newman tells WSAZ he is working on the investigation and plans to turn his findings over to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office when complete.

“We just need to start holding people accountable for these things. There is always a fear when you go into these situations that the charges won’t stick or that the person responsible won’t be held responsible for what happened,” Flanery said.

The staff at Pitiful Paws is focused on bringing the animal back to full health, and finding new families to take them in.

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