Last Tuesday, more than three dozen dogs were dumped on a dead-end street near Shady Lane Park in north Houston. By Saturday, almost all of them had been taken in by rescue partners, fosters or adopters.
The swift response from rescuers like Danna Fullen, who trapped most of the abandoned dogs at 2:30 a.m., is something the volunteers at Berg Foster Life and Corridor Rescue are proud of, but they also want to highlight that there are hundreds of other animals — 274 as of Tuesday morning — awaiting forever homes at Houston’s BARC shelter.
Laura Berg, founder and executive director of Berg Foster Life, said her organization took in 14 dogs from the Shady Lane group. While they were working with the BARC to find homes for the abandoned dogs, they found four others on the shelter’s euthanasia list that they couldn’t leave behind.
“We typically focus on dogs weighing 15 pounds and under, but several of these dogs were larger,” Berg said. “We made exceptions because we wanted to help as many as we could. The dogs who came into our rescue are in foster care and will need permanent homes. Placement with a rescue does not necessarily mean a dog has already been adopted.”
The Houston Police Department is investigating the dumping as an animal cruelty crime. When contacted for comment Tuesday, an HPD spokesman said he couldn’t answer whether an arrest has been made. He said he’d call back with more information but had not done so by deadline.
BARC Deputy Shelter Director Cory Stottlemyer said there are no additional details to share on the HPD investigation. The BARC ended up with 42 dogs from Shady Lane Park. As of Tuesday morning, nine remained available for adoption, rescue or foster opportunities.
“The response from our community has been incredible,” Stottlemyer said in an email on Tuesday. “Before the week ended, most of the 42 dogs had already been tagged by rescue partners and have pathways out of the shelter. An additional eight were adopted [last] weekend as well.”
The Shady Lane dogs range in age from about 1 to 6 years old.
“They may be a little shy when you first meet them, and let’s just say they’re still working on their leash manners,” Stottlemyer said. “We don’t know the circumstances that led their previous owner to abandon them, and while nothing excuses what happened, it’s clear these dogs have known human care and socialization. Now they deserve the chance to start a new chapter with people who will keep them safe and loved forever.”
Stottlemyer noted that while the dogs from the dumping situation have received a lot of attention, “there are so many other animals at BARC waiting for the exact same thing: someone to notice them, meet them, and decide they’re coming home.”
Although the BARC website lists 274 potential pets available for adoption, Stottlemyer said there are almost 400 animals that need a forever home, fostering or assistance from a rescue service. BARC is open for adoptions from noon to 5 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday at 3300 Carr. The adult dog adoption fee is $50.
Berg noted that the “Shady Lane situation” happened while the BARC was already overcrowded, as it tends to be year-round. One of the dogs she rescued from the euthanasia list has a broken leg and is scheduled for X-rays this week. At least one of the dumped dogs was pregnant.
“Other dogs have medical needs that can increase the cost of care,” Berg said Tuesday morning. “For example, Grizzy, who was on yesterday’s euthanasia list, had a mass under his chin. Rescues have to consider their capacity to provide appropriate care, including available foster homes, medical resources and funding. Taking in more dogs than we can responsibly support does not serve the animals already in our care or the ones we hope to help.”
Berg Foster LIfe had two potential fosters who no-showed for their pickups over the weekend. “We had to scramble to make other arrangements for those dogs,” Berg said. “That affected our ability to commit to additional dogs. Reliable foster homes are essential. When someone commits to fostering, the rescue is counting on that space to be available.”
The rescue nonprofits have also encountered backlash for taking the dogs to the BARC after last week’s rescue mission. Berg said it was necessary and a legal requirement for the animals to be inspected by the municipal animal control agency responsible for handling such cases.
“Over the last couple of days, we have watched an incredible number of people attack BARC, criticize the decision to bring the dumped dogs to the shelter, and even go after the very people who were physically involved in getting these animals to safety,” she said. “They were found abandoned under circumstances that warranted an investigation. That means documenting the animals, their conditions, where they were found, and the circumstances surrounding their abandonment. It also means completing the required stray-hold process and establishing the legal authority to release the animals to rescues.”
“You cannot simply collect dozens of abandoned dogs, distribute them among private individuals, and expect an animal cruelty investigation to proceed properly,” she added.
Berg Foster Life and other rescues submitted “tags” for the animals they could take custody of once they were legally eligible for release, Berg said, noting that while BARC euthanizes animals, the shelter doesn’t have the ability to limit intake based on resources the way that rescues do.
“Comparing the two as though they serve identical purposes demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of animal welfare,” she said. “If you want to be angry about something, be angry that dozens of dogs were abandoned in the first place. Be angry that shelters are overwhelmed, that affordable veterinary care is difficult to access, and that animal control agencies are expected to manage enormous problems with limited resources. Those are legitimate issues worth addressing.”
Beth Lovell, board chair of the street dog rescue operation Corridor Rescue, told the Houston Press last week that based on information she had from a volunteer who lives near Shady Lane and reported the abandoned dogs, she thinks the offender was a “backyard breeder” who needed to get rid of all the animals at the same time.
Lovell said the 14-square-mile area along Eastex-Jensen and Little York, known as the “Corridor of Cruelty,” is a common dump site for animals and “it’s the residents of the area doing it.”
The way to protect against an overpopulation of unwanted animals is to ensure that pets are spayed and neutered, she said.
“I’ve always said if we could put a big vacuum over the area and suck up every dog, tomorrow there would be more,” she said. “Spay and neuter all day long. We advocate for that so hard. It’s so hard to break through. Some people don’t believe in it. They don’t want to do it. Well, this is the repercussion of not spaying and neutering. Backyard breeding needs to stop. We have plenty of dogs in this city.”
Berg said she’s grateful for everyone who stepped up to help the Shady Lane dogs and wants the enthusiasm to continue even when there’s not a mass abandonment.
“We hope the attention on these dogs encourages more people to foster, adopt and support the shelters and rescues caring for animals throughout our community,” she said.
