6 Dogs Rescued from Trailer Park June 6, 2008   Along with the three mares rescued from the trailer park in Jeffersonton (see story below), MHF also seized several dogs that lived there.  One of them, Big Bear, was on a chain with no access to water and it was almost 100 degrees that week.  Thankfully, Big Bear was recently adopted out to a lovely home by MHF, and so was LeeLee the German Shepherd!	Big Bear at the trailer park
Misty	Misty is a very sweet small Pit Bull who was living in the trailer, so she's housebroken and is good with other dogs and indoor cats.  She's going through obedience training at MHF and doing very well!  You can fill out an application if you're interested in adopting Misty.
Amigo, another small Pit Bull, was taken from the trailer park on June 6, too.  Sadly, he's very shy and scared; he was living on a chain and was apparently beaten.  He's living at MHF right now, and gets lots of love and attention from our staff and volunteers.  He used to cower in the corner of his pen when people walked up, but now he comes over and wags his tail!  He's a very special little guy.	Amigo

3 Horses Rescued June 6, 2008   On June 6, MHF President Hilleary Bogley went on a humane investigation in Jeffersonton, accompanied by her fiance David Braun, Dr. Andrea Russell, and MHF equine staffer Anja Schattschneider.  Three mares were being kept in deplorable conditions in a trailer park -- there was no grass, no shelter and no water.  The "yard" where they were kept was filled with nothing but mud and rusted metal junk.	The mare "Future" in the junkyard of a home the horses were living in.
One severely emaciated mare, who we later named Hope, had been down for 3 days.  There was a lot of blood in the mud around her, probably from where she'd been thrashing. The other two mares, who we named Twiggy and Future, were also emaciated; Twiggy was lame due to the condition of her feet, and had infected wounds from her halter being left on and too tight.
The mare "Hope" had been down for 3 days in 95-degree weather.	The mare "Twiggy" was lame and had infected halter wounds.
"Hope" being loaded onto the trailer.	Hope began to perk up after she started to eat the hay we had brought and the fluids started to work.  Dr. Russell and everyone else sat in the hot sun with Hope for over 6 hours; when they thought Hope was strong enough to be moved, they rolled her onto a sheet of plywood and pulled her onto the trailer with Twiggy and Future, and brought the mares back to MHF.  Sadly, she began to colic later that evening and we made the decision to humanely euthanize her: she was simply too far gone.
After the trailer ride to MHF, Twiggy went down.  We started her on IV fluids and nutritional support, and Dr. Russell along with several other vets and volunteers sat with her the whole next day in the heat; we set up a tent to give her shade and eventually got her up that evening with the help of our wonderful neighbors, the Westermans, who brought their tractor and some straps.	"Twiggy" got IV fluids and medical treatment at MHF after she went down.
After she was up, Twiggy got a bubble bath!  She's doing amazingly well, and has become so trusting of people.  Now we let her into the shelter yard during the day so she can graze on the grass and she's blissfully happy, she's filling out, and her coat is coming back in.  Future went to stay with long-time MHF volunteer and board member Carolyn Shortt, and we hear she's doing fantastic too!
"Future" and "Twiggy" getting strong at MHF	"Twiggy" today!
Boo's Friends May 14, 2008   We recently lost a dear friend to MHF, "Boo the chicken man".  MHF has known Boo for the past 10 years.  He took much pride in the care of his chickens and bunny and after his passing we brought his 30 chickens and bunny here to the shelter.  The chickens were dewormed and had their wings clipped and are now living a life of luxury in a big grassy enclosure on a local farm.   We named the bunny "Boo" and hope to find him a good home soon.	Babs is one of the many chickens that used to live with Boo
"Linden" May 3, 2008   This super special little kitten was in the middle of Rt. 55 in Linden yesterday. A big guy in a big truck with big tattoos drove right over top of her! Fortunately, he had a big heart as well and went back and picked her up and brought her to MHF. We named her Linden.   Linden was skinny, full of fleas and had horrible ear mites.  But she also had a HUGE personality- all purrs and kisses.
Linden and her big sister, Madeline   Within 2 hours of being here, a lovely family came to see kittens and she stole their hearts. So today, just 23 hours after her near-death experience, she left with her new family.   The little girl Madeleine was very happy -- she told us that now she is "a big sister!"

This is typical of the state these dogs were in when they arrived

Puppy Mill Raid in Warren County
March 6, 2008

On February 29, an unlicensed puppy mill was discov-ered in Warren County. 22 dogs, all miniature breeds, were seized and taken to the Warren County Humane Society. Thankfully, the owner released the dogs to the sheriff’s office, so they can be adopted out immediately instead of waiting for a court case to be completed.

MHF took 15 of the dogs, including a 5-pound Chihuahua with 3 puppies. A few days later, we had to take the remainder of the dogs from Warren County. We now have 22 toy dogs!

We have our work cut out for us, getting everyone’s shots up-to-date, getting them spayed/neutered and clipped and groomed!

Seymour

***APRIL 5, 2008 UPDATE:  All but 2 adult dogs and 2 puppies have been adopted!  We just put our long-haired chihuahua, Seymour, on our Petfinders.com site -- if interested, please fill out an application!

 

***APRIL 18, 2008 UPDATE:  Only 2 dogs are left!  Horton, our 2-pound Yorkie, finally was healthy enough for his neuter last week and has a lovely family adopting him soon!  We also have one Chihuahua puppy who needs an adult-only home!

 

***MAY 1, 2008 UPDATE:  Everyone's adopted!

Two Horses Rescued
January 27, 2008

We took lots of portable fencing to help us confine the ponies and get them loaded onto the trailer.

After over two years of trying to get two young ponies out of a junk yard/trailer park in Culpeper, we were finally able to convince the woman to sell them to us. She had kept them in a chronic state of malnourishment but always fed just enough to not allow us to remove them legally. The little paint pony stallion and his sister have never had a halter on. This will be quite the challenge! But we are thrilled to finally have them with us and look forward to watching them grow both physically and mentally and learn to trust people again. Watch for updates!

Dogs Seized
December 31, 2007

This is the mom of our 11-week-old pups. She lived in complete filth with no food or water.

On December 31, 2007, court-appointed Humane Investor Hilleary Bogley accompanied three sheriffs to a house outside of Warrenton where a large number of dogs were being kept in deplorable conditions. 23 dogs were removed from the property. Eight dogs are being housed at the Fauquier SPCA and the rest came to the MHF shelter. We immediately began nutritional support, dewormings, and much-needed veterinary care.

This mom dog gave birth just 5 days after getting rescued from living on this short chain.

Sadly, on January 1, 2008, a lovely older Rottweiler gave birth here at the shelter to 12 newborn pups. She was emaciated and exhausted. Then on January 5, a gentle Presa Canario mom dog gave birth to 10 pups. She was also in horrible shape. This poor gal was chained inside of a pen on a 2 1/2 foot chain -- just think of her giving birth under those conditions. She couldn't even lie down. And then on January 19, another Presa gave birth to seven pups. So, we now have 50 dogs. It's a stressful situation for us financially, and the work load is tough.

Two of the 11-week-old puppies.

The rescued dogs are all Rottweiler, Presa Canario and/or Cane Corso. The adults are purebred but the guy wanted to start his "own bloodline" so all of the pups are crosses. On January 10, he was found guilty of being an unfit owner and MHF was given full custody of the dogs, BUT he is appealing. So this whole group is unavailable until after the appeal on April 4.

Fortunately, these are some very nice dogs, and the pups are gorgeous and being raised beautifully here at the shelter and in foster homes! We will have 37 large breed pups available as well as many 8-month-olds and a few adults so, if interested, please fill out and submit an application and we will put you on a list of potential adopters for this group!

 

***APRIL 4, 2008 UPDATE:  We won the appeal!!!  We got full custody of all of the dogs, won our petition and he's been ordered to pay all of the boarding/ medical/ surgical fees the dogs have incurred -- upwards of $45,000.  On top of that, the court ruled that he is not allowed to own ANY domestic animals. 

 

We're thrilled that we get to keep the dogs, spay and neuter them, and give these kids the homes they deserve!

 

***APRIL 8, 2008 UPDATE:  We won the appeal on April 4 and were thrilled with the court rulings:  we were given custody of all 44 dogs, a judgment of $45,000 from expenses we have incurred for the care of these dogs, and the judge ruled that Mr. Settle could not own animals for at least 2 years!  But today we were advised that Mr. Settle has the right to a second appeal, so these poor dogs are on hold again until May 9.  Ugh!

 

***MAY 9, 2008 UPDATE:  Mr. Settle waited until 15 minutes before the appeal deadline today and then filed.  The case is now going to a higher court in Richmond and we don't know anything other than it'll be "some time in July".  We'll keep you posted...

Teddy Bear

**HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT**

Click here to read about past rescues!

.

.

Click here to find out how YOU can help us help them!

Middleburg Humane Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All donations are 100% tax deductible. MHF continues to be entirely funded by private donations with no state or county funding. Please donate via paypal or make your check payable to: MHF and mail to MHF, PO Box 1238, Middleburg, VA 20118. Click here for other ways you can help.