CHHS gives new hope for 42 dogs in largest rescue in years

On Feb. 11, the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society conducted their largest rescue mission since 2018.

The CHHS Animal Rescue team traveled to Pickens, South Carolina to provide assistance in a large-scale puppy mill of 166 dogs. Staff from Anderson County PAWS was on the scene and their director, Dr. Kim Sanders, reached out to CHHS executive director David Stroud for help.

A total of 42 dogs, mostly puppies, were brought back to the Blue Ridge Mountains for safe refuge and the promise of a new life in a loving forever home.

“We’ve been great friends with Kim and her team for several years,” Stroud said. “We’re always happy to help when they call. This is our third rescue with them in the past three years but by far the largest. In fact, this is the largest rescue we have been a part of since we evacuated the Outer Banks SPCA of 72 animals on the eve of Hurricane Florence in 2018.”

In addition to the size of the rescue, what is also noteworthy are the breeds and breed mixes that CHHS brought back to the mountains.

“Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Goldendoodles, and a few others. Some appear to be purebred, some are mixed breeds,” Stroud said. “Many of these types of dogs and puppies are breeds that we hardly, if ever, see in our no-kill shelter.”

Of the 42 dogs, 33 are at the CHHS Canine Adoption Center and the other nine dogs were taken to PAWS Bryson City in Swain County. Thirty of the 33 dogs at CHHS are puppies, some as young as six weeks old, and the remaining three dogs age in range from one to three years. All of the dogs are currently receiving any and all necessary veterinary care and will soon be scheduled for spay/neuter surgery. Once they are fixed, they will be ready for their new forever homes. Interested adopters are encouraged to complete the adoption application on the CHHS website at chhumanesociety.org. Adoptions will be first come, first approved. For more information, please call the CHHS shelter at 828-743-5752.