CABOT, Ark. — Three people are facing charges after about 70 "unhealthy" dogs and three children were rescued from a home Tuesday in Hughes, Ark.
A third of the animals are now at Cabot Animal Support Services, as the shelter agreed to take 25 dogs from the West Memphis Animal Shelter to help ease their capacity.
"Shelters aren't built to take on natural disasters or man-made disasters, which is what this is," Cabot Animal Services Director Mike Wheeler said.
61-year-old Martin Miller-Huerta, 44-year-old W.L. Crump and 37-year-old Victoria Martinez were charged with endangering the welfare of minors and multiple counts of animal cruelty.
"The dogs were heavily neglected," Wheeler said. "They have flea infestations, hair loss from those infestations [and] intestinal parasites."
In addition to the conditions they arrived in, Wheeler said the animals will need more socialization.
"There could be 60 or 70 of them living in one house in harmony, but they can be really scared when someone tries to touch them," Wheeler said. "That's what we're dealing with."
On the brighter side, even the shelter the puppies came from in West Memphis believes they're on the right track.
"They're tense, of course, but no aggression," said Kerry Facello with the West Memphis Animal Shelter. "They're just very fearful and lack human socialization... they're coming around so fast."
Wheeler said the puppies' age plays a positive and significant role in the dog's ability to acclimate to a new home.
“The fortunate thing is that most of them are puppies,” Wheeler said. “Most of them are four to six months old, so we'll work through that. It's going to take a little human contact.”
Cabot Animal Support Services is currently working on the future of these pups, specifically their adoption into a loving home.
“We can give them all the enrichment all day long, but they're still in a four-by-eight kennel, so we have to get them out,” Wheeler said. “Our goal is for any animal that enters our shelter to be out within two weeks.”
Cabot Animal Services is a no-barrier adoption facility. They have $25 adoptions, which include spaying, neutering, rabies, microchips, and treatment for fleas and intestinal parasites.