39 Dogs Removed From Eastern Iowa Rescue Shelter

*The featured image is a stock photo of dogs and is not a photo of the animals in this story*

This is one of those stories that can have you feeling all different types of emotions. You might get sad, angry, or frustrated, and for me...all I keep asking is "Why?" Why do things like this even need to happen?

There's something about the mistreatment of animals that hits a bit differently. Maybe it's that there's an innocence to most dogs or they don't know it's not their fault they're being mistreated. I'm not sure but I hate stories like this.

39 dogs were removed from a facility in eastern Iowa yesterday (July-26) morning.

KCRG reports that The Animal Rescue League of Iowa, as well as the Cedar County Sheriff's office, have removed dogs from Just Dogs Rescue, in Tipton, located on the 1700 block of Iowa Highway 130. The dogs were removed due to unsafe living conditions.

This next part might shock you a little bit but it turns out that this facility had been non-compliant with multiple animal welfare inspections from July of 2021-January of 2023...

According to KCRG, the inspection reports noticed a strong ammonia odor lingering around the location. Fecal matter and hair covered the facility, as well as enclosures that had sharp edges, rust, and lights that did not work.

The lights might be on a bit of a minor scale here but imagine having to live every day in a pungent suffocating order, walking and sleeping around poop every night, and hoping to avoid sharp edges on the enclosures you live.

The shelter also failed to complete disease prevention and control programs. How could this shelter continue to exist for 1 and a half years is my biggest question. This should've been stopped a long time ago.

There is some good news. According to KCRG, the 39 have all been safely removed and are being evaluated for treatment. This is an ongoing investigation and the Cedar County Sheriff's Office told KCRG that "they are committed to upholding animal welfare laws and ensuring the responsible parties are held accountable."