City of Mills Asking for Help in Re-Homing Dogs Who Were Victims of Animal Cruelty and Hoarding

The City of Mills announced on Tuesday that they had taken in dogs who were the victims of animal cruelty and hoarding.

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According to Mills Mayor Leah Juarez, there were nine dogs that were removed from a home that was completely unfit to house them.

"We have received about five out of nine dogs from a hoarding and animal cruelty situation in Mills," Juarez told K2 Radio News. "The dogs were living in unsanitary conditions and were confined to very small spaces. Some of them had lived their whole lives outdoors, but the majority of them stayed indoors inside crates."

Mayor Juarez stated the city is trying to locate homes for the animals, but it's not as simple as families simply adopting the dogs.

"The tricky part is that there are a couple of dogs that need much more extra attention, as far as training goes, because they've been outside on a leash the majority of their life. So human interaction is new to them. But there are some dogs that are quite lovable and I think they would fit pretty easily within a family. At this point in time, we're going to bring in a couple of experts to let us know if these dogs are best on their own or if they'd be okay with another dog or a young family."

Juarez stated that professionals from the Laramie Peak Humane Society are coming in to assess the dogs and recommend which types of families and homes they could be adopted into.

When asked if the dogs were aggressive, Juarez said no.

"They're just scared," she said. "They're definitely not aggressive, but they've never been taught to sit, the majority of them. We've had them previously and they got sent back to the owner, and then we got them back. I had the opportunity to tend to them over the weekend, and a lot of them will take treats from your hand very gently. They're kind and timid. But there are a couple that are just really, really scared."

Why then, if these dogs were living in unsafe conditions, were they taken and then given back to the owner?

"The judge gave the person the opportunity to correct the situation and do what's right but, at the end of the day, Mills still has a maximum of four animals for households. And this individual just doesn't have the yard size or the home size to tend to nine dogs."

Juarez said she didn't believe the owner was being deliberately malicious but he just did not have the capacity, nor the wherewithal to adequately care for the dogs.

"I think, at the end of the day, all of us care and want to save all of the dogs," Juarez said. "But in this situation, the way in which he was keeping them was, in fact animal cruelty. There were animals living in their own excrement. The how was overrun with excrement. The entire situation just wasn't clean or safe or adequate for the dogs."

So, the city removed the dogs from the home and are now hoping to re-home them.

"We're specifically looking for people who might be more open to training a dog," Juarez said. "We need an owner with more patience, that wants to adopt. We're also looking for any animal rescues that are accepting as well. That's what we need at the moment,"

Mayor Juarez stated that individuals or rescues that are interested in adopting the doggos can call the Mills City Hall at 307-234-6679.