Rescued dogs sniff out hope

Nineteen dogs are waiting to find a new home after being rescued from an abandoned property in rural North Dakota. Their new destination: Boulder, CO.

In mid-October the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals stepped in and seized 200 dogs from an alleged puppy mill in a rural North Dakota. After paperwork was filled out by the Central Dakota Humane Society, and a long 600-mile trip, 35 of the 200 dogs found new hope at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley.

Their conditions were unthinkable, said Director of Communications at the HSBV Kim Sporrer.

"Some were tied to poles, some had not been fed well and some had parasites," Sporrer said. "We were happy to get them here so we could start giving them the life that they deserve."

Once in Boulder, the dogs were spayed and neutered and began their adaptation to a safer environment. Working with the dogs is an important part of conditioning them to live with humans, said Supervisor of the Training and Behavior Department Shelly Brouwer.

"For the most part a lot of them were pretty worried," Brouwer said. "But they seemed interested in people. Then we started spending more time with them, offering treats, interacting with them outside and getting to know each of them better."

As of Wednesday, 16 of the 35 dogs have been adopted.

"We have such a great community, and high adoption rate, and a successful program here that we can usually find home for these dogs pretty quickly," Sporrer said.

All of these four-legged friends come with a complimentary private training session. The adoption rate varies from animal to animal. Visit www.boulderhumane.org for more information.