TYLER, Texas — Smith County Animal Control Supervisor Amber Greene said Monday the over 50 dogs taken from the owners of the suspected dogfighting ring are safe and in good health, but have to stay in the shelter for now.
"There are 55 animals from that seizure that are housed here. There’s an animal cruelty investigation that's going on right now, and so none of those dogs are available for adoption or available for foster," Greene said.
The owners of the dogs will appear in court this Thursday. After it’s decided if the owners or the county get custody of the dogs, there is a 10-day appeal window. Right now, only the dogs who were previously in the shelter are available, but any adoptions will help.
"We’re just about full. We had about 31 to 33 dogs that were already here that were available for adoption when we had to seize the animals. So right now we’re trying to move some of those dogs and get them adopted or rescues to come get them. So that will free up some space so we can continue to answer the calls of the Smith County citizens," Greene said.
The influx of dogs in the shelter means less space for dogs that citizens make calls on every day. The size of the dogs as well as the resources the shelter has all play a part in how many dogs they are able to take in.
"It also depends on how many staff we have that can adequately clean in a timely manner, and also the kennel ration," Greene said.
But regardless, Greene made it clear that calls are still welcome, and emergencies are still treated with high importance
"We don’t want anybody not to call us. I mean that is our job, that is first and foremost to make sure that the citizens of Smith County are safe, and let us come out and do our investigation. If it is an aggressive dog and we can locate it that is something that we could be picking up," Greene said.