Weber County Animal Services staffers get outpouring of support in caring for 150-plus dogs

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18-04-2025

As efforts proceed to examine the 150-plus small dogs removed this week from an Ogden home, many organizations and well-wishers have pitched in to help Weber County Animal Services staffers contend with the situation.
"The community partners are really coming through," Weber County Commissioner Sharon Bolos said Thursday. "The community has just come through in an amazing way and made this bearable."
While the examinations of the dogs continues ahead of putting them up for adoption or foster placement, Bolos said the canines seem to be in relatively good shape given the circumstances. She visited the county-owned Weber County Animal Services facility in Ogden and saw the animals, none of which had to be euthanized.
"They're fairly healthy," she said, adding that she thinks most will ultimately be adoptable. They're all smaller, mixed-breed dogs.
Ogden police were tipped off to the presence of a multitude of dogs at a home in the 3000 block of Jefferson Avenue and removed them in an operation that started Tuesday evening and extended into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Authorities originally reported 152 dogs, but Ogden Police Lt. William Farr said the count is actually 156.
The owner of the dogs, cooperative when authorities showed up at his home on Tuesday, has relinquished ownership to Weber County Animal Services and Weber County, Farr said. He also said the police probe into the matter is complete, with the case now in the hands of prosecutors.
"I expect that we'll probably know more by ... the beginning or middle of next week, as far as what charges and if they choose to pursue charges at this point," he said.
Farr wouldn't offer any additional details about the former dog owner, but the home where the animals were recovered was the site of a similar operation in 2012. At that time, Ogden animal officials removed 149 dogs from the home, many or most of them Chihuahuas, according to a news report at the time.
Brenda Gordon, now living in Oregon, worked with the man with the 149 dogs in 2012. She was operator of an Ogden animal rescue operation at the time.
"He really does love the dogs and he puts his heart, his soul and everything" in to their care, she said. However, he didn't have the income back in 2012 to spay or neuter the animals or otherwise give them the care they needed.
The turn of events this week has pulled at the heartstrings of animal lovers and others and prompted an outpouring of support. The Humane Society of Utah on Thursday took some of the dogs from the Weber County Animal Services facility to assist in examining, vaccinating, spaying and neutering the critters. Likewise, the Golden Bark Foundation, Friends of Weber County Animal Services and others donated their assistance, animal supplies and food for Weber County Animal Services staffers as they deal with the influx of animals.
"We put out a call on social media to recruit, specifically, funds to buy the staff food and energy drinks ... while they're working all these long extra shifts," said Seth Schilling. She's the executive director of Golden Bark, which focuses on providing foster care for older dogs.
A post Thursday on the Weber County Animal Services Facebook page noted help from a pair of veterinarians.
"Also, our wonderful foster coordinators came in to help us get started on giving some baths with flea shampoo! They also picked up tons of donations for us. We couldn't be more thankful for them donating this time to us and the animals!" reads the post.
Schilling, who got a quick glimpse of the animals on Wednesday, said the dogs will likely need grooming and nail trims in addition to medical evaluations before they can be put up for adoption. She suspects other animal rescue organizations will assist in caring for the animals and finding them homes. As is, Bolos said the Weber County Animal Services office is packed, with the recent arrivals placed in the facility's storage spaces and garage.
Lisa Peterson, a volunteer with Mountain Mama Pyrs and Pups, a rescue organization, was aiding in efforts to process the many dogs and thinks some could be put up for adoption as early as next week. She lives near the Jefferson Avenue home where the 156 dogs were removed and stumbled upon the rescue scene Tuesday as it unfolded.
Contributing: Mike Anderson