KDSN RADIO News
Rescue of 100+ dogs in Plymouth County leaves agency in need of space, cash
Iowa’s largest non-profit animal shelter tackled one of its biggest rescue efforts in years in northwest Iowa on Tuesday.
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa rounded up and removed more than one hundred dogs from a property in Plymouth County.
KC Routos, the ARL’s director of development and communications, says it was a major operation to safely house and transport so many animals, almost four hours to the headquarters in Des Moines.
“They are mostly fairly small dogs, but we do have a few larger dogs in the rescue as well,” Routos says. “Currently, we’re converting space in our facilities to not only house the small dogs, but also the larger dogs, and we are already at capacity right now, so we are setting up temporary housing in the meantime.”
Members of the ARL’s trained medical staff are working to care for each dog, administer vaccinations, and get them healthy.
“We’re still evaluating the conditions of each animal,” Routos says. “It’s going to take some time for our team to process them all, but we are happy to say that they are back at our shelter, safe and are getting the care that they need.”
It’s hoped some of the dogs will be well enough to be put up for adoption very soon. The shelter is appealing to Iowans for help, both through financial donations and encouraging people to become pet parents.
“As you can imagine, feeding 100 dogs that we weren’t expecting it is definitely quite expensive, and that doesn’t include any of the medical care that they need,” Routos says. “We’re also looking for fosters, whether it’s big dog fosters to make room for these guys, or to foster any animal in our care, would be helpful.”
She notes that the ARL receives no state, federal, or United Way funding, so it relies heavily on community support.
