ECTOR, Texas — For over a week now, animal rescues from all over West Texas have been in and out of a property in Pleasant Farms, saving approximately 120 dogs, according to rescuers.
"Well, when we first started on this, when we first went out there discovering what we were up against, we just had to regroup and come up with a plan on how we were going to handle it, because you could tell it was way out of control," said Debbie Terry with Sassys Dogs Rescue.
A lot of these dogs were in bad shape, some suffering from tick fever, worms and wounds from fighting with each others. The good news is, these dogs are in good hands and on their way to becoming regular dogs.
Each organization took as many dogs as they could, and are doing what they can to make sure they're healthy.
"A lot of these dogs are really broken," said Terry. "Luckily, this little guy, Deacon, he's bounced back because he's young, but a lot of the adults, they're breeding dogs and they've just lived there as breeding dogs, and they know nothing else, and they've had to fight for everything."
These hoarding situations are something that rescues want to stop.
"We don't want to keep doing this," said Terry. "It's time to get higher-ups involved, and start addressing the hoarding situations out here, because there's so many that we don't know about, I'm sure, and it happens all the time, and we've got to get people to be held accountable for their actions."
Terry believes it everyone needs to come together for this cause.
"It's got to be community effort," said Terry. "City officials, law enforcement, everything across the board. A neighbor sees something that's not right, hoarding, cruelty, neglect, where can they report it to get things done, they have to get things done."
If you would like to donate to or foster for any of these organizations that helped, you can find out more information on their websites: Midland Humane Coalition, Permian Basin Animal Advocates, Sassys Dogs Rescue, Fix West Texas, West Texas Diamonds in the Ruff and The Good Dog Gang.