Wallowa County canine family rescued from possible neglect

Published 5:30 am Monday, May 29, 2023

ENTERPRISE — The Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office rescued nine potential victims of the four-legged variety Thursday, May 25, which aided the Wallowa County Humane Society in a possible animal-neglect case.

Kathy Reynolds, the dog facilitator for the Wallowa County Humane Society, said the dogs were a family comprised of a 6-year-old Walker hound male named Sonny and a 4-year-old Great Dane female named Lucy that are the parents of seven 13-month-old pups.

Reynolds said the dogs are being held in a pen behind Double Arrow Veterinary Clinic on Highway 3 north of Enterprise. She said it’s a county-owned kennel that the county allows the Humane Society to use.

Last week, she said, the sheriff’s office learned of the dogs living at a home in rural Enterprise.

Undersheriff Billy Wells said he had gone to the home of Alfredo Hernandez on an unrelated matter and discovered the dogs in poor condition. He assisted the Humane Society in securing the dogs’ rescue.

“(The Hernandezes) were willing to give those dogs up, but it seemed like they were not taking the necessary steps to get care for those dogs,” Wells said.

He added it appeared the Hernandezes were trying to find homes for the pups but had been unsuccessful so far.

Reynolds said she saw the dogs and could confirm their poor condition.

“They were underfed, their ribs were visible and they had sores,” she said, adding that they had no food or water.

She said they were being treated by Double Arrow. They have been dewormed and had blood work performed. Biopsies were performed on tumors on Sonny.

“It could be from the conditions they were kept in, they were down in a basement,” Reynolds said, adding that the veterinarians put the dogs on antibiotics.

She also said it was determined Sonny’s tumors were cancerous and he would likely have to be euthanized.

The rest will be up for adoption, Reynolds said. But that will have to wait until they get all their veterinary treatments and are spayed or neutered and received their necessary vaccines.

It also will have to wait until the Wallowa County District Attorney’s Office makes a determination on criminal charges. District Attorney Rebecca Frolander was unavailable for comment, as was Sheriff Joel Fish.

Reynolds said the Humane Society has been relying on its volunteers who routinely help, but that the need often outstrips what those volunteers can provide.

She said Double Arrow has been helpful in donating what it could, but much of what they offered had to be paid for. As a result, the adoption fees the Humane Society will charge for the dogs will be about $250.

“We are taking on a huge cost here,” she said. “We survive on donations.”

Donate cash, goods or time to the Wallowa County Humane Society at 119 E. Main St. in Enterprise or by calling 541-398-8586.