Jefferson Co. community comes together to support dogs after woman arrested for aggravated animal cruelty

Paula Whitt, 55, runs the nonprofit "A Life 2go2 Rescue." The nonprofit said it helps all animals "regardless of the situation, breed, age" or sex. Jefferson County deputies, animal control workers and a local shelter went to her location expecting to rescue a few dogs.

When they finished counting, they found she had 68 dogs in her care.

Companion Animal Rescue and Education took in all the dogs. Its director, Mindy Hutcheson, said workers arrived at the nonprofit around 9 a.m. Monday and the last dog was transported around 8:30 p.m.

While she said they are doing their best to help every dog, some could not be helped.

"We did have to have one dog euthanized last night right away. We couldn't let her go overnight. She was in dire need of relief," Hutcheson said.

She said the dogs all need supportive care.

"They are starved. They're completely dehydrated, anemic. So we are feeding, watering — IV fluids in some situations. We're trying everything to just kind of boost their system again. The next step is going to be to start testing them for things such as heartworms to see what they're up against, what their battles are actually gonna be," she said.

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/hamblen-jefferson-cocke-greene/community-comes-together-to-support-dogs-in-poor-condition-in-jefferson-county/51-b09d46df-4f4e-4f51-8d11-581069ff2bea

This is why cities/counties pass pet number limits. While I sometimes think the limits are too low to accommodate licensed breeders and rescues, perhaps those folks would be happy to allow inspections of their properties in return for larger numbers.