Jacksonville PAWS reached out and supported rescue efforts in regards to a nearly 100-dog negligence tragedy in Southwestern Illinois as Franklin County officials were in dire need yesterday.
The local Protecting Animal Welfare Society office has spent 5 years in the current buildings on Walnut Avenue and are proud to service any and all cats and dogs in the local and surrounding area.
According to founder of the Jacksonville office Lisa Jackson, a special situation called for her, the PAWS board of directors, and many other volunteers to step in and take on a massive task.
“I got a call from a fellow rescuer at Montgomery County PAWS Cares [no direct affiliation with PAWS Jacksonville] wanting to know if I was available to be of assistance. They got 91 dogs in on one day and with only one open run. When we got there, we saw a bunch of pens set up outside and multiple dogs in each run.”
The 91 dogs were all found in one house in the village of Macedonia Monday afternoon. In a quote first issued by WSIL in Carterville, Franklin County Animal Control supervisor Thad Snell said the smell from the property was very pungent and the home was almost unapproachable.
Lisa Jackson and the PAWS staff take any and all precautions when handling new animals in their facilities.
“The very second any animal gets on the property, I scan it for a microchip to see if it’s either a owner return with a microchip or a stray, which will need one. Each dog will be vaccinated immediately for distemper/parvo/bordetella and a flu vaccine, flea preventative and wormer. Then at the vet, each dog is either spayed or neutered given a rabies vaccine and a fecal test [a.k.a. fecal float].”
PAWS staff and volunteers drove down to Franklin county and picked up just over half of the canines. Jackson says 46 dogs needed to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated and Cass Veterinary Services answered as quick as PAWS did for Franklin County Animal Control.
“Our vet actually stayed open for the evening and is neutering 30 dogs for us just tonight. We take at least 10 animals every Tuesday morning for a normal weekly vet run. While they were working on those, I called him again with our dilemma. The vet and two of his employees, Anna and Madison were nice enough to stay after hours to make sure these animals saw a veterinarian as soon as they arrived.”
Jackson says that the medical and care costs for all 46 animals was paid by PAWS out of pocket immediately to protect their welfare. In light of this massive undertaking by the Jacksonville office, Lisa Jackson announces the return of a popular autumn PAWS fundraiser.
“We will be having our Doggone Fundraiser here at the PAWS property again this year, just like last year, on the last Saturday of September. This year, that falls on the 29th. Events will be from noon to 4, and then the live auction will start at 4 p.m., and we will also have a few silent auction items. The number for PAWS is (217) 243-7297. There is a detailed answering machine, so if it’s off hours and you want to leave a message you are more than welcome to do so. There will also be a big raffle, including a travel package and a Jones’ Meat Locker package that we do every year. Jacksonville has always been so amazingly supportive of PAWS, and none of this is possible without our members of the community checking us out and supporting in whatever way or ways that they can.”
Jackson also says that all the canines, as well as many other cats and dogs, are available for adoption at PAWS’ staunchly NO-KILL shelter. “It’s definitely a neglect case. Anyone interested in adopting is going to need some extra patience. From what I have come to understand, these dogs were not outside dogs at all. Some of them are medium sized dogs. Just have a lot of patience, and you’ll have a great dog.”
Franklin County deputies arrested a mother and two sons 54 year old Trudie Casler, 32 year old Matthew Casler, and 30 year old Sean Casler in rural Macedonia. All three may potentially face animal cruelty charges.
To learn more about the Dog Gone fundraiser and all the animals available for adoption in connection with the Protecting Animal Welfare society, go to their local Facebook page and PetFinder profile.