UPDATE ON OCTOBER 23: All dogs from this rescue have been adopted! We have reached our goal for the care needed for these pups-thank you!

UPDATE ON OCTOBER 11: As of today, all but six dogs from this rescue have been adopted. The remaining six are very shy and even scared, so they are looking for very patient adopters who will give them the time they need to acclimate to their new normal.

The dogs from this group still in need of families are: Darley, Tuffet, Winston, Nick, Schmidt, and Coach. To learn more about them, click on their names to visit their webpages.

They can stay at DCHS as long as it takes to find their new homes.

Additionally, we are so close to reaching our $6,000 fundraising goal to provide the care these pups need. To support these dogs, click on the button below.

UPDATE ON OCTOBER 6th: Most of the dogs have been made available for adoption. They're looking for patient adopters to show them love and kindness.

One of the dogs, Phantom, underwent a big transformation. He's a poodle who's hair was badly matted. Watch to see Phantom's amazing transformation, and the even better news that happened after:

UPDATE ON OCTOBER 5TH: After arriving at DCHS on the night of Wednesday, October 4th, the dogs were provided with comfortable bedding, water, and food. For the first time ever, these dogs have a soft place to sleep.

Some of these dogs are badly matted, some are repeatedly shaking and rubbing their ears, some have eye issues, and many are very scared.

On Thursday, October 5th, most of the dogs received initial exams from DCHS veterinarians. Some dogs did not let the vets to touch them.

A senior Shih Tzu named Elvis was already taken into dental surgery Thursday morning. He had such severe dental disease that part of his jaw was already missing. In addition to surgery on his jaw, he had 18 teeth extracted, leaving him with no remaining teeth. His vision is also impaired by corneal scarring due to untreated dry eye.

A standard poodle named Phantom enjoyed touching grass for the first time. He hopped around in sheer joy after going in a play yard with a volunteer. On Friday, his severely matted coat will be completely shaved.

“These dogs can take all the time they need to settle in as DCHS staff and volunteers work to gain their trust and show them the world isn’t so scary a place – not anymore,” says Lisa Bernard, Public Relations Coordinator at DCHS. “We will work with these pups to meet their physical, mental, and emotional needs and when they’re ready for their next chapter to find a new home, we will be here to help them with that too.”

There is good news: two puppies from this group were made available for adoption on Thursday.

ORIGINAL POST FROM OCTOBER 5TH:

On Tuesday, Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) staff drove to Missouri to retrieve 16 dogs and bring them back to Madison so they can get a second chance to find new families.

At the request of National Mill Dog Rescue, BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Animal Incident Management initiative was called into action to facilitate placement for over 170 dogs and puppies surrendered from commercial breeding facilities throughout the Midwest. These dogs include overproduced puppies that breeders were unable to sell to pet stores and online consumers throughout the United States, including in Wisconsin. Some dogs were retired breeding females unable to produce puppies, while others were from a breeder that shut down.

The dogs on this lifesaving mission are a result of the sharp increase in the number of dogs being surrendered from commercial breeders this year.

“These dogs are castaways that have nowhere else to go. If they wouldn’t be going to a rescue or shelter, they would be destroyed because there’s no value left in them," explains Amy Good, Director of Development and Marketing at DCHS. "We’re really grateful that these dogs were surrendered so all these groups could come together and help these dogs heal emotionally and physically.”

BISSELL Pet Foundation is generously covering the costs associated with preparing the rescued pups for travel, but once they arrive at DCHS, each dog needs a physical exam from a DCHS veterinarian and a behavioral assessment from our Canine Behavior Specialists. They also need spay and neuter surgeries. Once they are cleared, they can stay with DCHS for as long as it takes to find them a new home.

“These are different than the dogs we sometimes get at the shelter. These are dogs not used to human touch that’s kind. There are dogs that are shying away. There are some doodle mixes that are absolutely filthy; their coats must hurt so much because they’re so matted. There are animals here with injuries that have been untreated," Amy says. "These dogs have a long way to go to be ready to really become the true dogs they were meant to be. Let’s show these dogs some love from Wisconsin.”

The cost of transporting these dogs all the way to Wisconsin and all of their care will add up.

And you can help!

We are so fortunate to be part of a community that has a BIG heart for animals. These dogs might need some time to adjust before we can make them available for adoption. They can stay with us for as long as they need, but the cost of even daily care adds up, and we expect some of these dogs will need extra behavioral and medical support.

So, we’re reaching out to our generous community for help.

Right now, we are focused on meeting these dogs’ physical, mental, and emotional needs. You can keep an eye on our website at giveshelter.org/adopt to see when they’re ready to find their new homes. In the meantime, we need your help!

“These dogs need new homes, which means we need adopters," says Lisa Bernard, DCHS's Public Relations Coordinator. "If you’re looking to add a new dog to your family, please consider adoption first and come to DCHS to meet our available dogs. If you can’t open your home to one of these dogs but know others who could, please help spread the word about these dogs and help us find them new families.”

Any additional funds raised will be used to continue the work our shelter does every day to provide high quality care to thousands of companion animals each year.