Animals rescued from McAllen home microchipped, PVAS working to alert owners
About 93 animals were recovered from unhealthy conditions in a McAllen home, and Palm Valley Animal Society says some of those animals are microchipped to different addresses.
"A lot of the dogs are microchipped, and they're not registered to that specific address, so we are starting to call people, text people and email people," PVAS Director Faith Wright said.
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The center says it's reaching out to owners listed on those chips. Volunteers and staff continue caring for those dogs, some of which had such bad hygiene it raised concerns about skin problems and circulation problems, even trouble walking.
PVAS is putting intake for other animals on hold while they deal with the influx of the 93 dogs. They're looking for people to foster the dogs on a temporary basis, not permanently, pending a judge's decision.
"We need fosters and rescues. We cannot adopt these dogs out yet because they might be allowed to go back to the owner if they can win their court cases," Wright said.
Back in the neighborhood on Ozark Avenue in McAllen, neighbors are talking about what happened and the signs that came before it.
One neighbor says she was one of several others to make a complaint in recent months.
"The smell was just so potent, and I just didn't think it could have been the trash can. So I called the city, called 911, and they told me they would send somebody to check it out, but that's the last thing I heard from that," Sophia Rodriguez said.
She says after seeing stray dogs in this neighborhood months ago, she thinks some may have escaped.
PVAS staff and volunteers are now working to account for all the dogs, tracing a fraction of those that are microchipped to other addresses around the Rio Grande Valley.