The Animal Shelter of Schoharie County has taken in five dogs in connection with the seizure of more than 100 cats and dogs from an Albany County home last Wednesday.
Jennifer Uhl of Empawthy Rescue in the Town of Colonie was arrested under Ag & Markets law for failing to provide proper sustenance; the dogs the ASSV is housing—two Huskies and three Shepherd mixes—are from a Town of Wright “rescue” that was partnering with Empawthy.
Because the Wright dogs were voluntarily surrendered Friday, no charges have been filed in that incident and the homeowner has not been charged.
Neither, however, are a registered pet rescue or shelter.
According to ASSV Executive Director Maggie Jackman Pryor, the five dogs they’ve taken in were the only ones at the Wright home when the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, which seized the Colonie dogs and cats last Wednesday with the help of the Colonie Police Department, arrived Thursday.
Neighbors, however, had reported considerably more dogs and the ASSV was seeking local law enforcement help with the situation.
In addition to the five Wright dogs, Ms. Pryor said the ASSV has also agreed to take in dogs for Mohawk Hudson that were left in Empawthy foster homes in both the Capital District and locally.
“I’ve already heard from a woman near Lake George with two of those dogs,” she said.
“She never intended to keep them—and can’t. She just thought she was doing a nice thing for the short-term.”
Ms. Pryor said neither they nor Mohawk Hudson have any idea of how many of those fosters are out there.
Many of the Colonie dogs are believed to be part of a 60-dog transport from Texas, she said; Mohawk Hudson is reaching out to their original shelter, trying to find out where some of those dogs are being fostered.
Anyone with an Empawthy foster dog that they can’t keep or continue to care for can call ASSV at (518) 296-8390 or email assv@midtel.net.
None of the seized or surrendered dogs have medical records, Ms. Pryor said.
The five at ASSV have received vet checks and vaccinations since arriving; Aprille Hadsell, vet for the Shelter, said they’re also being treated for giardia, hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms, all of which are intestinal parasites.
Dr.Hadsell is still waiting for results on heartworm and tick-bourne disease testing.
Pending those results—and because the dog were voluntarily surrendered—they could be cleared for adoption by Saturday at the latest, Dr. Hadsell said.
According to news reports, when Mohawk Hudson and police arrived at Ms. Uhl’s Colonie home, they found “extreme conditions of filth and crowding” and 102 live animals—47 dogs, 52 cats, and three ferrets.
They also found 16 deceased pets in a freezer, including 15 cats and a rabbit.