JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tennessee — 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.
The shelter is at capacity, so Hutcheson said they have been working to find other places for some dogs to stay. One of those places is Sublime K-9 Training and Boarding. Its owner, Kayla Daniels, is also a deputy with the county's sheriff's office. She was on the scene Monday and is now housing two of the dogs.
"It's honestly heartbreaking. I do this for a living and have for a long time. We try to take the best care of our dogs that we possibly can and it really is a lot of work. I mean, taking care of animals is a 24/7 full-time commitment," Daniels said.
She said the conditions the dogs lived in were some of the worst she'd seen in a while.
"That's a lot of dogs for one person to care for. I don't know what happened. I'm sure it started out with good intentions, but obviously she got in over her head," she said.
Daniels said since the investigation is ongoing, the dogs can't be put up for adoption until the case is resolved. Hutcheson said the shelter is doing its best, but with the shelter being full and dogs having to live outside in crates, the situation is not ideal.
"These poor dogs have been through so much. Making them stay in this situation for a long drawn out period of time — it could be life or death for them," Hutcheson said.
WBIR reached out to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for a copy of the police report from the incident. It was not available by the time this story was published.