Crammed into a van in the middle of winter, scared, ill, uncomfortable, and running out of hope. These three surviving pups sat in filth for what felt like an eternity, thinking no human would ever love them enough to hear their wailing cries coming from the run-down van with blacked-out windows that held them prisoner. 

We at Animal Charity of Ohio received and frantic and urgent call from Mahoning County Dog Warden about a nightmarish scene. What the warden thought would be a run-of-the-mill license and rabies check ended up being a horrific scene of neglect and terror. We quickly sent an agent down there to help and take in any animal at the scene. Upon arrival, the story unraveled in front of our eyes. Five dogs had been shoved into a van with makeshift stalls, which were barely the proper size for any of the dogs inside. The smell that poured out of the van was vile, making our team shudder knowing the dogs had been forced to sit in their own excrements for who knows how long. As we stepped inside the van, we found a heartbreaking reality that two of the dogs inside had not survived the abuse. Quickly, we pulled the three sweet pups that had fought to stay alive out of the van. We also took custody of the two deceased dogs, to begin the process of taking legal action against the person responsible. 

Dilly, Scooter, and Lucy have become our three new intakes and even though they survived this disgusting tale, they are bearing the consequences of the abuse. With two of them being Heartworm positive, Dilly being covered in wounds and is not using or putting weight on his front leg, and Lucy being severely emaciated and sporting large patches of missing fur, we have no reason to rule out physical abuse by the hand of a human, as well as the obvious neglect. We have cleaned these three lovely dogs up, given them a warm soft bed, and plan to get to the vet as soon as possible. It’s truly incredible that any of the three were willing to let us near them after whatever hell they endured and we plan on showing what love actually means and feels like. In the meantime, we have requested a necropsy be performed on the two deceased dogs to determine the exact cause of death and are waiting for the results, to help in our legal dispute against the abuse these 5 amazing dogs endured. Most importantly, Dilly, Scooter, and Lucy are safe and will never know pain at the hand of a human again. 

We are asking for donations to go toward the medical costs all three puppylove’s will require to get back to full health. With a small donation, you can change their lives for the better and bring hope and love back to their hearts. Every dollar donated goes to saving multiple lives instead of just 1. Please help us teach these miracle pups what it means to be loved again. Thank you to every donor who has made the selfless decision to donate to this cause.