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Updated News on the Baird Case. Posted September 26th 2003
Rescue gives dogs chance to be loved
By Ted Roelofs
The Grand Rapids Press
ALLEGAN COUNTY -- For now, they are just numbers.
But in a matter of weeks, Kim Scott hopes a group of shivering, terrified dogs seized from an Arkansas kennel will find new homes and names more appealing than "012."
That is the number assigned to a nervous black-and-white coonhound tethered in her front yard, one of 30 dogs shipped Thursday morning to her home near Martin.
Scott looked at the array of bloodhounds, coonhounds and beagles in cages and tethered all around her yard, shaking her head in disbelief at the treatment they allegedly endured.
"It's disgusting. It makes me sick. It's unbelievable (that) somebody could do something like that to one of God's creatures," said Scott, director of the Allegan County-based Bellowood Rescue, which specializes in rescuing bloodhounds and coonhounds.
As she talked, two federal agents photographed each dog and logged in each as evidence in a investigation into violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Federal agents seized 125 dogs and one cat in a raid Aug. 26 an Arkansas kennel about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock, where the animals were being housed before they were sold for medical research.
Until Wednesday, the animals had been housed in swine cages at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds while officials decided what to do with them.
Scott and Michigan animal rescue activists volunteered to help, not knowing they would wind up with 30 dogs.
Of those, most are to be sent to temporary homes in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, where they will be cared for and trained until they are suitable for permanent homes.
Scott is optimistic none of the dogs will have to be euthanized.
"It will happen. They will get adopted," she said.
Scott herself is taking six of the dogs until they are ready for permanent homes.
A Los Angeles-based animal rights organization accused the Arkansas kennel of running one of the largest pet theft rings in the United States, stealing pets in Arkansas, Missouri and perhaps several other states.
According to Chris DeRose, president of Last Chance for Animals, Martin Creek Kennels would pay $10 to $20 per dog and sell them for $250 to $800. He said thieves targeted mostly medium to large dogs.
DeRose told reporters his organization turned a tape over to the government that showed a beagle being punched in the face and a terrier mix being dragged outside and casually shot in the head because it was not considered good for research.
The organization's Web site said that an undercover investigator at the kennel discovered abuse, neglect and unsanitary conditions at the kennel.
According to Vikki Sebok, president of Michigan Coonhound Rescue, a federal official contacted her earlier this month and asked if she handle 11 dogs. That quickly became 30.
"This was a first for all of us," said Sebok, who teamed with Scott in pulling the network of volunteers and rescue organizations needed to accept the animals.
For the past seven days, Sebok said, she worked 16- to 18-hour days to help pull the operation together.
"It's all teamwork," she said.
Things didn't go perfectly.
Not long after the truck pulled in, two of the dogs broke free from their plastic collars. One of them managed to get a half-mile away in a neighboring field before he was captured.
A few minutes later, a horse escaped from a shed on Scott's property, setting off a loud chorus of barking all around the yard.
Kentwood resident Beri Bok, who directs a bloodhound rescue operation called Sniffy Dogs, is taking one of the bloodhounds into her home until he's ready for adoption. She looked at the brown male, who was still shivering from fear.
"He's just really, really scared," she said.
Despite their difficult past, Bok was optimistic the best days are ahead for the escapees of the Arkansas kennel.
"Pulling off something like this in less than a week is a miracle."
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© 2003 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission
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