What Will Happen To 37 Chihuahuas Surrendered To This Riverside County Animal Shelter?

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA — A total of 37 Chihuauahs were handed over to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus this week when a Cathedral City resident asked for help with puppy litters gone out of control.

One week ago, the man, whose name remains undisclosed, learned he would be evicted from his house if he didn't take care of the multitude of dogs there. His next stop was the county's Coachella Valley Animal Campus, where he simply asked for help.

Help arrived, in spades.

Officers came to the man's house and took all of the dogs to the shelter. There, veterinarians provided each with an examination and vaccinations.

Finding homes for the pups took a little more assistance.

Of the 37 dogs, 31 were headed to an Animal Services rescue partner organization, Never Forgotten Animal Society, based in Pahrump, Nevada.

Four of the pups will be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and returned to the man as his pets.

The last two dogs required special care and will remain at the shelter.

Jackie Schart, animal services chief overseeing operations at Coachella Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, said that it was a situation in which a resident was in trouble, asked for help and received it.

"This was not an animal cruelty situation," Schart said. "This was a situation where someone clearly was overwhelmed with unaltered dogs that continued to create litter after litter."

Who is paying for the massive number of spaying and neutering surgeries necessary?

The Healthy Pet Zone, part of a specialized grant fund, will assist with offsetting the costs of spaying and neuter surgeries, as well as vaccinations for all dogs, Schart said.

Kindness, not punishment, was what was needed in this situation, according to Schart.

"Instead of being punitive, the approach here was to be helpful," Schart said. "People need to have faith in us to help when they reach out to us. We do really want to help people. They just need to ask."

Animal Services Deputy Director Kim Youngberg discussed how fortunate the department was to have so many rescue organizations willing to help in such a quick manner.

"This man needed urgent help," Youngberg said. "He was worried about losing his home."

The shelter also needed some help, she said.

"Since the man surrendered ownership of the dogs to us, we were immediately able to get a rescue organization lined up for re-homing," Youngberg said. "We are grateful to have such a great network of rescue partners."