Eight of nine dogs rescued from poor conditions are now in foster care or have been placed in permanent homes, officials said Thursday. Mobile County animal control officials picked up nine dogs that were poorly fed and kept in wooden and metal kennels with meager ventilation at a residence on Glen Acres Drive East on Aug. 25. Cheyenne Earl Owens, 44, identified as the owner, remained in Mobile County Metro Jail as of Thursday in lieu of $32,000 total bail. He was charged with eight counts of first-degree dog/cat cruelty and eight counts of second-degree cruelty, according to jail records. One of the dogs had to be euthanized, officials said.
This week, all eight of the dogs were placed in either foster care or with new owners, said Nancy Johnson, spokeswoman for the Mobile County Commission. Stacey Holland of Wilmer, an animal rescue volunteer, carried one dog to Birmingham and on Wednesday took two others to Greenville to meet foster caregivers. On Thursday, Holland carried two dogs to a local animal clinic, where they will be picked up by a Champaign, Ill., veterinarian who will keep them as pets, Johnson said.
“They suffered a lot, but now they are going to have their own doctor to take care of them,” Johnson said.
Later Thursday morning, Holland carried a third dog to a foster home in Fairhope. “(This) is what we are supposed to do,” Holland said Thursday. “Dogs were put here on this earth, and we’re supposed to watch out for them and to take care of them and not abuse them and not throw them away.”Another dog is being cared for locally by River Dog Rescue, Johnson said. Bonnie Blue Rescue, based in Richmond, Va., is working to find permanent homes for the dogs, she said.