Trumbull County OH: where BSL victims went to die

Imagine you're forced to consider giving up your family pet because BSL has made it virtually impossible to find insurance for your dog's targeted breed? And you're getting friggin' desperate. And you know that your local shelter is a dead-end - emphasis on dead - because, who in their right mind wants to adopt a dog with overwhelming state restrictions attached? And rescues are beyond full with dogs they can't place? And you're thinking, "Good god - How can I possibly put my beloved to sleep?"

And you learn about a sanctuary that takes pit bulls. A no-kill sanctuary with a warm and inviting website for your family pet; the wonderful dog that's been your steady and loyal companion for months or years. Would you take him there rather than euthanize him? Oh hell yeah, you would.

You and me, and many, many other people. When we learned that a sanctuary in Trumbull County Ohio had been raided for overcrowding and horrid conditions, it almost didn't land on our radar. But I grazed the seizure photos at the urging of a friend and nearly fell over. These are pets - family pets - on chains, starving, some dead or dying, crammed into crowded, nightmare conditions. Dogs that once played fetch and rolled over for treats and hogged the covers and showed up in family photos - left there by desperate people who probably had no idea.

When we say BSL pushes family pets under the carpet, this is what it looks like under that carpet. (Warning: Don't look if you're feeling off-kilter today. It'll ruin your day, I promise) "SANCTUARY"

Not counting the scores of decomposing bodies, the raid uncovered over 162 barely living dogs ... a third of them pit bulls. Of course it did. Pit bulls have no where to go in Ohio.

A judge found the owner of the sanctuary owner guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty and sentenced her to five years probation. Yes, she got in over her head. Typically, hoarders are treated as people with a mental illness, and you can certainly understand why an animal lover would lose their marbles in a state with rampant puppy mills and laws that send families with pit bulls into a desperate tailspin. Hell, I might turn into a psycho hoarder in her shoes.

We're absorbing one former pet from this case - this ding-dong boy here - although I wish we could take twenty. If you're a dog rescuer, I hope you can find a way to take one, too.

The surviving animals from this death camp are being cared for by the now very crowded Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County. This struggling organization has an antiquated shelter, a tiny operating budget of only $350K, and now they have the weight of the world on their shoulders as they try to sort out all the animals from this raid, including and especially the pit bulls. Send them your donations, good people. Here they are in the middle of BFE Ohio trying to help pit bulls that no one else wants. I mean, I could just die.

Stay tuned for updates. We'll be keeping our ears peeled towards this case and will post updates on the situation, as well as the Ohio transplant who's coming to find a new family in CA.