SAN DIEGO, CA — Seven of 40 dogs and puppies rescued late last year from an apartment in La Mesa have been placed in foster homes, officials announced.
The pups were rescued after the La Mesa Police Department conducted a welfare check on Dec. 29 on a tenant facing eviction. San Diego Humane Society’s humane officers found 40 dogs and puppies living in feces and unsanitary conditions, according to the organization’s spokesperson Nina Thompson.
After providing the animals with food and water, San Diego Humane Society officers and medical teams returned the next day to triage the dogs and take them to the organization’s San Diego campus. Each dog received a medical exam, vaccinations, dewormer and microchip before being settled in to decompress in their kennels, Thompson said.
“In the two weeks since the rescue, the dogs have been surrounded by compassion and expert care,” Thompson said.
Staff named the dogs after poets and authors, including Twain, Tolstoy, Bronte, Kafka, Atwood, Sappho, Woolf and Camus.
Two dogs, Clarke and Thoreau, are being treated for severe eye ulcers and are on the road to recovery.
Three newborn puppies who initially required around-the-clock foster care have been reunited with their mother, Christie, after staff identified her during exams. The mother and her puppies have been in a foster home since Jan. 2.
“The timing of this mass intake intensified an already urgent space crisis,” Thompson said.
San Diego Humane Society entered the new year with 27% more dogs in care compared to last year. As of Wednesday, the organization had 751 dogs in its care and shelters were operating beyond ideal capacity.