Animal rescue seeks foster homes for dogs saved from suspected fighting ring
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The Grimes County Animal Rescue is currently over capacity as it cares for several dogs that officials say came from a suspected animal fighting ring. Now, the rescue is getting the dogs ready for new homes.
"The fighting pitties that we took from the county are no longer fighting pitties, they're just pitties looking for a new home," Elora Alexander said.
In February, the rescue received a call from the Livestock Division of Grimes County. The department removed more than a dozen dogs from a property for suspected dog fighting.
"So that left us with 14 pitties that were injured. We had one that had parvo. We had tons with hookworms and have had to try and build them up," Alexander said.
Now, the dogs need someone to provide a safe and loving temporary home. I asked Paul Telthorster, a dog trainer fostering one of the dogs, how the animals benefit from a home environment.
"It gets more acclimated to a living environment, being with the family. Preps them for the idea of being adopted better, because if they're just stuck in cages all day, they're not working on their house etiquette, they're not working on training," Telthorster said.
I am told it can take up to two weeks for a dog to feel comfortable in a new home. Along with interacting with families, the shelter assesses how the dogs handle other animals.
"Some of them are safe with just males or just females or any dog they're perfectly fine with. There's a couple of older ones who are fantastic with other dogs," Alexander said.
The rescue is accepting foster applications now and will provide dog bowls, kennels, or anything else needed. Telthorster shared what to look for when considering a dog to foster.
"So you just try to look for very friendly traits and with the tail wagging, the more excited nature, they're happy to see you. It's just all the little happy body language cause that's how dogs communicate is body language and tone of voice," Telthorster said.
The suspected dog-fighting case is still under investigation.
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