Nine dogs surrendered in Billings due to poor living conditions

BILLINGS – The Rimrock Humane Society is taking over care for nine mixed dachshunds that were surrendered from a Billings woman with the hopes of eventually adopting them out.

But the task isn’t going to be easy due to the poor living conditions the dogs were in.

“Horrific,” said Executive Director Sandy Church with the Rimrock Humane Society. That was the word used to describe the condition of the dogs by those now caring for them by veterinarian staff.

As a general practice, Rimrock Humane Society does not adopt out dogs until the animals have been fully screened and treated by a vet.

On Tuesday, the dog’s owner brought the dachshunds to the vet clinic, which is currently treating them for numerous health issues due to their living conditions.

According to Church, the owners of the dogs, a couple living in the Blue Creek area, were forced to downsize or risk being evicted.

The Rimrock Humane Society explained in a Facebook post: “We received a call this weekend from an elderly couple who need to surrender 7 (SEVEN) of their dogs. It seems they live in a trailer park where the rules about dog ownership have changed and they can only have 3 dogs and they currently have 10. They literally had to go to court and the judge mandated that they surrender 7 of their dogs and it was supposed to happen last Friday. They heard about our fostering program and said they knew this is what they wanted for their babies. Four of the dogs are miniature Dachshunds and three of the dogs are Chiweenies.”

While the dogs are well fed and happy, Church said they all suffer from skin issues, rotten teeth, and possible mange.

To try and find the dogs a long-term home, the story of the dachshunds was shared on the Rimrock Humane Society’s Facebook page, which garnered much attention from animal lovers.

• Reported by Andrea Lutz