SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The Central New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals deals with issues of animal neglect and mistreatment. Last month, the organization seized 61 beagles that were living in poor conditions in an Oneida County home.
“You never really know what it’s going to be like until you show up,” said Troy Waffner, the director of the CNY SPCA. “The first thing you notice is the smell from the house. The ammonia smell that’s coming from the feces and urine inside…They hadn’t been let outside and the windows hadn’t been opened. So they were living in this environment of a small house with a huge number of dogs.”
Despite being trapped in a small home, Waffner said the dogs were all mostly found in healthy conditions. Some beagles are suffering from ear infections, but Waffner said the CNY SPCA is administering the dogs and giving them medications. Many of the dogs are also suffering from anxiety and are receiving training from staff members.
“A few of them need a little sociability because they’re nervous around people,” Waffner said. “We have dog trainers and dog socialists who come in and they actually work with the animals one on one to introduce them to people and get them ready to be adopted.”
Since the dogs have been seized, the CNY SPCA has received a large amount of donations. And while many of these donations are monetary, the shelter has also been given numerous supplies to help care for the beagles.
“There has been a huge outpouring,” Waffner said. “When we get this many dogs, we go through a lot of bleach and a lot of laundry detergent, lots of blankets, towels, beds and toys and treats and everything. And we have gotten a lot of people stopping in to drop that off.”
But caring for the dogs is only part of the job; the CNY SPCA also wants to find forever homes for the beagles. And adoption efforts have so far been successful. Over 40 applications have already been approved to adopt the rescued beagles.
“We are a no-kill shelter, so we would never euthanize for space,” Waffner said. “When animals come in, we work them all the way through the process if they need training, if they need sociability, if they need manners. We work with the dogs before we adopt them to get them to that point.”
While there were a total of 61 beagles that were rescued, six of those dogs were pregnant mothers. And with one of the beagle’s recently giving birth, the CNY SPCA is now housing 66 beagles. The huge outpouring of support and donations from the community has greatly helped the shelter to ensure proper care for all the beagles. And hopefully, they can all find loving families soon.
“Sometimes if we get a massive hoarding case, there are times that we have to leave some of the animals at the said property and come back for them later on,” said Celica Edick, a CNY SPCA kennel staff member. “But the fact that we’re able to take all these dogs and get them the help that they need was just phenomenal.”
