Seth Orebaugh said he can’t ever recall more dogs being kept inside at a residence.
The manager of the Golden Belt Humane Society coordinated a roundup of 50 dogs and puppies from a trailer home Tuesday on the southeast side of Great Bend. The Great Bend city code allows a homeowner to house as many as four dogs at a residence.
Orebaugh said a concerned citizen had notified People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which called the local shelter about the concern of too many dogs housed at a Great Bend property.
“I’ve never seen that many dogs housed indoors at a property,” Orebaugh said. “It was definitely surprising, something we were not expecting to see.”
The roundup has stressed the capacity of the Golden Belt Humane Society past its typical limit of 32 animals, and virtually assures many of the animals will have to be euthanized, according to Orebaugh. He said the shelter will likely to pressured to make a decision about most of the animals by 4 p.m. Wednesday.
A normal pickup situation would require a dog be housed at the Golden Belt Humane Society for three days.
The property at 100 Elm Street houses a collection of terriers, beagles and dachshunds, including several females which are pregnant. By mid-afternoon, 50 dogs and puppies had been transported to the Golden Belt Humane Society in Great Bend.
Orebaugh said it difficult to get that many dogs the care and attention they require.
“When you have that many dogs in a confined space, you have the potential for health issues and disease issues,” Orebaugh said. “It’s an unsafe environment.”
Orebaugh said the Great Bend police department handles the filing of a charge of housing too many animals.
Golden Belt volunteers were working the phones, trying to coordinate with other animal shelters to try and minimize the number of dogs which would be euthanized.
Orebaugh said shelter personnel generally gauge whether an animal has the proper personality to be adopted.
Chris Klima said she sympathizes with the animals.
“We’ve got to do our best to save these puppies,” Klima said.