Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/surrendered-hounds/
Coastal Paws Rescue is pleading for people’s help to save the lives of many hounds that are being abandoned in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
Raquel Linger, who manages the animal shelter, which rescues animals in Virginia and North Carolina, said that these dogs get dumped by their owners between hunting seasons. This year, local shelters are getting overwhelmed by the problem as the number of abandoned hounds doubles up.
Why Hunters Mercilessly Abandon Their Hounds in the Woods and Rural Roads
Virginia is a popular place for hunters and trappers. Hunters are now also allowed to use drones, aside from dogs, hawks, falcons, and owls, in spotting game.
Among the wild animals that Virginia allows for hunting and trapping are:
1. Deer
2. Elk
3. Wild turkey
4. Bears
5. Furbearers like bobcat, fox, beaver, coyote, fisher, mink, opossum, otter, skunk, raccoon, weasels, muskrat, and nutria
6. Migratory game birds like ducks, swans, coots, brant, doves, geese, gallinules, mergansers, snipe, moorhens, rails, and woodcock
7. Small game animals like squirrels, rabbits, bobwhite quail, pheasants, and ruffed grouse
The state also allows dog training on live wild animals, but only during authorized seasons and on authorized lands in order to develop their hunting skills.
But, according to Linger, many hunters treat their hounds poorly. “They do not get vet care, and they basically get them when they’re a puppy. They try to train them and run them a few times; if that dog is not running the way they want them to run, they cut them loose.”
The dogs are abandoned either in the woods or along countryside roads to survive on their own.
Coastal Paws Rescue is Racing Against Time to Save the Hounds
“I’m trying to get a place for them, because their shelters are so overcrowded, they’re doubling up. There’s no room for them; the dogs have days to live,” said Linger, who keeps on receiving calls from nearby counties and messages on social media. Before her interview with WTKR News 3, she rescued 30 dogs on the same day.
“I just feel like they deserve a chance. They did their job; they’re a working breed, and they didn’t ask for any of this, and what you get in return when you get a hound, there’s just nothing like it.”
Linger is now appealing to everyone to adopt a rescue hound or to provide the animal shelter with financial assistance while they continue looking for foster homes for these pitiful animals.
Hounds are excellent family dogs, and they are very gentle toward kids. They are also very intelligent and need only low-maintenance care. Your family will surely gain a great deal of joy and sunshine from adopting a hound.
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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
