Nashville Humane was contacted late last week to support a suspected hoarding case in southeast Tennessee about two hours from Nashville. The property owner was ready for support, which is a positive thing in difficult situations like this. Hoarding cases can be complicated, and they don’t necessarily always start from a bad place. And in this particular case, everyone involved agreed that it was time for help, and that’s what we were there to do.

After a bright and early departure, our team worked to secure the dogs on the property and safely move them onto our transport vehicles. In all, it took our team of five about three hours to safely secure 23 dogs, including seven puppies, all of whom are now safely at their new temporary home and in our care at Nashville Humane.

Medically, there are a number of different conditions that we’re dealing with. Most of the pups are underweight and malnourished to start. It will take time for our Vet team to get in and do full checks on every pet. The puppies are already receiving care in our ICU to ensure they receive fluids and additional diagnostic tests.

The vast majority of these little ones had never been held or didn’t show signs of having had much human contact at all. They’ll all need extensive care and attention to assist them in learning to trust people.

Tomorrow starts a new day. Our Animal Care team will be giving them love and attention while working to earn their trust. Everything will be done on their terms and when they’re ready. Many will be going into foster homes over the next week, so they can continue to heal (inside and out). This is a long journey to where they need to be. When an adult dog doesn’t know what a toy is or how to interact with one, it’s going to take time.

But we’re happy to be with them every step of the way, and we hope that you join us and cheer them on through their journey. Thank you for helping make rescues like this possible through your support.