DE SOTO- On Monday afternoon, AHeinz57 Pet Rescue recovered 44 dogs from a home in Burlington.
After receiving a call over the weekend, Amy Heinz knew she had to help. On Monday, she and three other volunteers made the three hour trip to a home in Burlington.
“The guy was very happy to see us, and to our surprise it was a house in the middle of town, which was shocking,” said Heinz.
Inside, 67 dogs were living in a filthy puppy mill. The owner had passed away and her son decided to give the dogs to a rescue rather than sell them.
“There were dogs on the stove, there were dogs in bowls, literally in bowls in mixing bowls,” said Heinz.
By the time the rescue crew was back to De Soto, they had 44 dogs in two vans and had people lining up to help. From groomers, to veterinarians to the usual volunteers, the crews worked until 3 a.m. cleaning the dogs up.
“It’s always overwhelming and I’m just touched so deeply when I pull up and our parking lot was full come to help,” said Heinz.
Of the 44 dogs, around 27 have gone to foster homes and seventeen remain in the shelter. The dogs range in ages from four days old to fourteen years.
Many of the dogs were found with pounds of matted hair, fleas and in need of vaccinations.
Cases like this make Amy and her volunteers look forward to the future and the goals they’re hoping to hit in 2017.
“We’re very limited. It was hard last night just to maneuver around people. Our building is an old vet clinic, a small vet clinic. We were in the kennels doing grooming,” said Heinz.
Right now, AHeinz57 has a campaign in the works to break ground in spring on a four acre lot in De Soto. A new building has been designed by engineers to better suit the rescue and community it serves.
“We have hundreds of volunteers that want to help and do more, with a bigger building, we can do more.”
If you would like to learn how to volunteer or donate to AHeinz57, visit their website or AHeinz57 Facebook page.
