Rescued dogs well on road to rehab

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - They survived what investigators call a death camp, and now the 20 dogs out of the 90 discovered in a horrific animal hoarding case are starting to thrive.

In early June Cibola County sheriff's deputies found a property filled with pain.

Forty miles west of Grants in Ramah last month they discovered starving dogs dying hourly and mass animal graves. Arlene Krippene, 73, called it the St. Francis Animal Refuge, but rescuers had to put down 70 dogs judged too sick to recover.

Animal Humane Association of New Mexico took in 10 of the dogs. Seven already have permanent homes.

Lily was the worst of the survivors. The pointer mix is now the poster child for the Attorney General's Animal Cruelty Task Force.

She's gained 17 pounds in three weeks, weighing in at almost 56 pounds this week.

Lily is learning how to live with people in foster care. Monica Garcia, her foster mom, said this is her first experience doing that.

"You can see some light in her face where before you could see a lot of worry and anxiety," Garcia told KRQE News 13.

Tigers Eye, a 1 1/2-year-old collie mix, was also in bad shape and has gained nine pounds in three weeks. However he's not yet ready for adoption as Animal Humane Executive Director Peggy Weigle found when she tried to call him.

"Come on," she said but to no avail. "He still is a little bit like, 'I'm not going over to you.'"

Still he will find a good home when he's ready, she added.

"He's in our behavior rehab program here at Animal Humane," Weigle continued. "That means that he goes into doggy play groups and he also goes in to staff offices with another dog during the day so he sees a lot of people coming and going."

To adopt one of the dogs or to make a donation for their care, contact Animal Humane.

The other 10 surviving dogs are progressing with Torrance County Animal Control.

Krippene faces more than a dozen counts of extreme animal cruelty.