After an intense month, nine Great Dane puppies rescued by a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the Mohawk Valley are just about ready to go up for adoption. As Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Aaron Shellow-Lavine reports, their story of survival comes as state lawmakers are pushing to strengthen pet protections.
In July, nearly 80 animals were seized from a Schoharie County home, including four horses and five chickens.
Among the rescued animals were 17 puppies, infected with the often-deadly parvovirus.
Jenny Lukovsky, the director of veterinary services at the Susquehanna SPCA said it was one of the "toughest" situations they had seen in a while.
"It was very sad," she said. "It was really hard on everybody. Puppies were dying on scene. They were dying on transport to us. And it was just really hard on the whole staff. They were barely moving, barely eating. With the parvovirus we see a lot of vomiting and diarrhea so they were dehydrated. It had just taken everything out of them."
She says a number of the dogs also had pneumonia.
Due to the diligent work of her staff, nine Great Dane puppies are alive and well. They are running, jumping and playing in the shelter’s backyard.
“Watching them recover from all of these illnesses has just been, you know you’re nervous and very stressed about everyday what you’re coming into," Lukovsky said. "But they’re tough pups. The ones that are here have just become just puppies. They’re happy, they’re playing, they’re eating so much. They love their treats, they love all their food."
Only seven of the nine surviving puppies are currently at the shelter. Two are already being fostered.
On Monday, there was a constant stream of people visiting the SPCA to see Norman, Adeline, Lady, Agnes, Edmund, Ethel and Sable even though they haven’t yet been listed for adoption.
The puppies are two to three months old, roughly 30 pounds and stumble over their massive paws. In another four months, they’ll be almost 100 pounds heavier.
SPCA Communications Director Allison Hungerford says she’s not above using the new puppies to get folks in the door and interested in any of the dozens of other adoptable animals at the shelter.
“The fluffy Golden Retriever that is super adoptable has 10,000 inquiries, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but you see where I’m going, and maybe the shyer dog next to her hasn’t gotten any inquiries because she is more shy," Hungerford said. "But when the people come in to meet the Golden Retriever, they see that shy dog’s personality and they end up taking her home instead. So, that is defiantly a hope here for these Great Danes as well."
While the community has rallied around the Susquehanna SPCA, donating food, blankets and toys, along with heaps of encouragement, state legislators are working to expand punishments for those found guilty of animal abuse.
Republican State Senator Jim Tedisco has proposed a suite of animal cruelty legislation over the past year including a state-wide animal abuser registry. Currently, 26 of New York’s 62 counties have their own registries.
Tedisco is also pushing to mandate psychiatric evaluation and treatment for those convicted of animal cruelty in addition to expanding the penalties for abusers to a $5,000 fine and 10 years in prison. He’d also like to see anyone found guilty barred from ever owning pets again.
Lukovsky said more resources going toward educating owners, breeders, and law enforcement about proper care would go a long way.
“For me, from my perspective, you always want to see the bad guys—whatever needs to happen to them. But ultimately a lot of people have good intentions and the follow-through just isn’t there. We need to educate, we need to be there,” said Lukovsky.
