PARKERSBURG - When Maryann Hollis left Philadelphia to start her new position as executive director of the Humane Society of Parkersburg three weeks ago, Parkersburg seemed to be a small, sleepy town.
That is, until a thousand dogs were dropped in her lap Saturday and she found herself in the midst of one of the largest animal-rescue operations in the nation and the largest in West Virginia history.
Luckily, she's had some help as organizations and volunteers from across the nation have pitched in to help move and care for the dogs.
The dogs were surrendered by Whispering Oaks Kennel Saturday, after officials executed a search warrant at Sharon Robert's Internet-based dog-breeding business at 301 Whispering Oaks Lane, Parkersburg.
The Wood County Sheriff's Department reported the owner's husband, Edwin R. Roberts, 73, of 301 Whispering Oaks Lane, Parkersburg, was arrested at 4:25 p.m. Sunday on charges of assault of a police officer and obstructing a police officer. He was scheduled for arraignment Sunday evening in Wood County Magistrate Court. Details surrounding the arrest were unavailable at press time.
It took two days to move all the dogs into a Parkersburg warehouse for temporary housing. There is much still to do: each of those thousand dogs has to seen by a veterinarian. Each needs its cage cleaned, fed, watered and perhaps an occasional scratch behind the ear.
The warehouse was a flurry of activity Sunday, with dozens of volunteers moving dogs, cleaning cages, feeding dogs, bringing in supplies and checking on puppies and pregnant dogs - which will soon be moved to where they can be better cared for - about to give birth.
Many of those volunteers are from Parkersburg. Others hail from all over the nation - from groups including the Humane Society of the United States, Best Friends Animal Society, The Humane Society of Missouri, the Tampa Bay Disaster Animal Response Team and United Animal Nations.
It's an effort of monolithic proportions, but Hollis said it's one of the most satisfying undertakings she's ever been a part of.
"Pennsylvania is well-known for its vast amount of puppy mills and people brought so many of those dogs in to us, but the mills kept going. To be able to see one of those close down instead of just taking dogs they've sold has been a dream come true for me," she said.
Some of the dogs were dehydrated, but most were in relatively good health. One dog, however, was initially feared to have had a broken pelvis, but Sunday's prognosis for the animal was far worse, said Carrie Roe, the Humane Society of Parkersburg's board president.
"The dog's pelvis is not broken. The bad news is, it is paralyzed in the rear legs. The good news is one of the organizations here - Best Friends Animal Society - has committed to taking care of that dog for the rest of its life," she said.
Roe said the dog's injury was not new.
"The dog has been in this condition for some time," she said.
The majority of the dogs aren't the puppies people usually purchased from Whispering Oaks for several hundred dollars each. Although there are many puppies, as well as some yet to be born, most are adults, Hollis said.
"These were the dogs that were breeding machines," she said.
The dogs were kept in wire mesh enclosures, most about three feet by three feet, resembling rabbit hutches, Roe said.
Roe said dogs who have lived their lives on wire mesh often have difficulty learning to deal with other surfaces.
"They don't know how to walk in grass. They get in it and they feel this strange sensation on their feet and they will stumble and fall over. You literally have to teach them to walk on grass," she said.
Hollis said the dogs can also have difficulty learning to walk on carpet and may avoid flat, hard surfaces, such as tile floors.
Applications for adoption won't be accepted until Saturday. Roe said finding homes for the dogs will be a complicated process.
"These dogs have had very little human attention, they fight for it. Dogs from puppy mills typically don't do well with other dogs. These dogs have never been on a leash. They have seen so many more people in the last 24 hours than they have seen in their entire lives," she said.
On its Web site, which has been taken down since Saturday, Whispering Oaks cited a policy of not allowing people to visit the kennel because of insurance and liability purposes.
Not being allowed to see the conditions dogs were reared in should throw up a red flag to anyone wanting to purchase a dog, Roe said. She said there are numerous reputable dog breeders and those wanting to purchase a dog should expect some degree of transparency.
"If you can't see where the dog was born and raised, you simply shouldn't be buying that dog," Roe said.
The cost of the rescue operation could exceed $100,000 and the humane society needs monetary donations most of all, Hollis said. Volunteers are also in need of meals, she said.
