50 Dogs Need Homes After Owner Found Dead In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — About 50 dogs are in the process of being rescued from a ranch in the unincorporated community of Sky Valley after the owner was found dead over the weekend.

Authorities were called late Sunday after other residents at the Vee Bee Road property discovered the unresponsive man, who was later pronounced deceased. His identity was not released.

Emergency responders who responded to the scene contacted the Riverside County Department of Animal Services because the decedent had dozens of dogs and a horse at the ranch. Five great Danes were near the man’s body, and many small breeds were also at the property, according to RCDAS spokesperson John Welsh.

The decedent's sister, who lives out of the county, agreed to relinquish all the dogs to RCDAS except for one great Dane that she will care for. She also agreed to take the horse.

The process of gathering the dogs has been a days-long effort amid torrid weather conditions. Residents at the property are providing food and water for the animals as RCDAS officials work to corral the canines.

On Monday, many of the dogs were running loose, and there was concern the animals could suffer heat-related injuries or death if officials kept trying to wrangle them, according to RCDAS Lt. Luis Rosa. Daytime high temperatures in the Sky Valley area have hovered near 110 degrees.

RCDAS officials are working with rescue partner organizations to ensure the canines find good homes, Welsh said. Riverside County shelters are currently very full, so many of the dogs will likely be rehomed out of state.

Southern California-based Wings of Rescue, a nonprofit that flies abandoned, homeless and at-risk pets from overcrowded shelters and disaster areas, is scheduled on Friday to transport dozens of the dogs from Riverside Municipal Airport to a rescue organization in Utah.

The transportation cost is fully funded by donations received from area organizations, according to Welsh.

"Rescue missions such as this are a vital part of our portfolio of positive outcomes," said Animal Services Director Erin Gettis. "Other states and organizations are in need of animals for adoption and it is wonderful when we can work with these community partners to make it happen."

The Sky Valley incident marks the third hoarding-like situation RCDAS has responded to in less than two weeks, Welsh said.

RCDAS officers removed roughly 50 dogs from a Thermal property on July 11. That figure included many deceased canines. Another 20 dogs were impounded from a home in Indio on July 12.

If you are interested in adopting a pet from RCDAS, visit rcdas.org.