Groomers needed after 35 dogs forfeited to humane society

By BRIAN HEMMINGER

City editor

SYCAMORE — A total of 35 dogs were surrendered to the Wyandot County Humane Society as a result of a residential search warrant served by the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Huron County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday evening.

According to a release from the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation into cruelty to animals started in Huron County after the Huron County Sheriff’s Office and Huron County Humane Society served a search warrant at 2018 CR 10 S. in Attica. The warrant was served Aug. 23.

Information obtained during the search warrant led detectives to 305 W. 10th St. in Sycamore.

On Aug. 28, a search warrant was signed in Wyandot County to search the residence and premises of 305 W. 10th St. in Sycamore. A male and female were detained during the search of the residence and outbuildings.

The Wyandot County Humane Society was summoned to the scene by detectives. In all, 36 dogs were removed from the residence and outbuildings as evidence and 35 of the dogs were surrendered by their owner to the Wyandot County Humane Society.

Detectives from the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office and the Huron County Sheriff’s Office are continuing their investigation into cruelty to animals and expect criminal charges to be filed in this case.

Wyandot County Humane Society shelter manager Millie Theron said the good news is that the new dogs get along with one another so they are at least able to be grouped together at the shelter.

“A lot of the dogs are small to medium mixed breeds,” Theron said. “They will be made available as soon as they are medically cleared by our veterinarians. Our team’s doing such a good job taking care of them.”

While waiting for the dogs to be medically cleared, Theron said the Wyandot County Humane Society could use all the help it can get from the community. 

“We would love the support of the public,” Theron said. “Community problems require community solutions. We’d definitely love the help of any groomers that are available to help do some grooming. In terms of supplies, shampoo, de-matting brushes, dry goods, paper towels and shredded newspaper. We buy everything tax-free as a 501(c)3, so monetary donations are always helpful because then we can buy in bulk for a better price than the general public could.”

While she couldn’t comment on the specific health conditions of the dogs, Theron said groomers and grooming supplies are the top priority for the humane society at the moment.

“Our veterinarians stayed late with their clinic team late into the night Wednesday night making sure every dog was given a thorough evaluation,” Theron said. “It’s a lot of really sweet dogs, almost all small to medium, relatively young. They range from young to a couple of years old. They are handleable and very sweet.”

As soon as our vets clear the dogs, Theron said the humane society will put them on its website wyhumane.org, which she recently redesigned. 

Theron will attend the next First Thursday event with some of the adoptable dogs in a playpen and also will have a double booth at the Wyandot County Fair beginning Sept. 9.

In the meantime, Theron said the humane society continues to look for volunteers to help socialize dogs at the shelter and make them more adoptable.

“Socialization is a huge piece of the puzzle to get any animal ready to be adopted, especially getting them comfortable around children,” Theron said. “The animals really benefit from it. This group of 35 is really going to need some of that hands-on love and care.”

In Huron County, the Huron County Humane Society received 20 dogs and three cats that were removed from the home at 2018 CR 10 S. in Attica, which led to the search warrant in Sycamore.

The Huron County Humane Society shared photos of some of the poor conditions the animals were living with. One of the neglected dogs is a mother to four puppies, HCHS stated.

Due to the severe matting of their fur, HCHS said volunteers had difficulty figuring out which dogs were males, females and nursing.

One of the neglected dogs is a mother to four puppies, but HCHS volunteers were concerned the puppies would have trouble nursing due to the long matted fur, which her puppies blended right into

HCHS said some of the 20 dogs have had no socialization, so volunteers are training them to be ready for adoption.

Charges are expected to be filed in the Huron County investigation.

The residence in Sycamore is no stranger to community issues. Less than three weeks ago, Sycamore residents addressed Sycamore Village Council about the problems they are having with the loud, barking dogs all through the night at 305 W. 10th St. in Sycamore.

Unfortunately, the residents was just across the municipality line for the village, so the village was unable to enforce its barking dogs or noise ordinances against the owners of the property.

A resident at the property on 10th St. in Sycamore, Donna L. Bentley, 65, currently has four active charges from the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office including two counts of disorderly conduct, one count of barking/howling dogs and one count of failure to confine dog. Another resident at the address, Kyle L. Shinbaum, 71, has two active charges from the WCSO, one for disorderly conduct and one for barking/howling dogs.