April 17, 2008

Tokio Elevator dogs captured

Journal photo by Jennifer Larsen

Deuce. Ritzville Othello Pet Rescue volunteer Janet Bowman peers inside the kennel where a newly rescued black and white hound cautiously watches her. Deuce, as the hound was later named, and his companion, Chance, were captured last Friday near the Tokio Elevator.

Two Ritzville Othello Pet Rescue volunteers successfully captured two abandoned dogs last Friday morning near the Tokio Elevator after weeks of coaxing and providing food had failed.

By noon that day, Janet Bowman and Karen Potts had two male dogs – a black and white hound and a Rottweiler/hound mix – in kennels in the back of Potts’ pickup. The dogs are being rehabilitated at the Potts home.

Bowman met Sprague veterinarian Jill Swannack near the elevator around 9:30 a.m. that morning. Swannack had drugged some canned dog food with two drugs, Bowman said, one to make the dogs ‘wobbly’ and the other to keep them calm.

At about 11 a.m., both dogs were feeling the effects of the drugged food and were herded into a corner of a barn where they were caught.

The Rottweiler/hound mix was one of the three dogs Bowman originally saw near the Tokio Elevator when volunteers rescued six hounds on March 6.

“People need to understand that drugging was a last ditch effort,” Bowman said. “We had live traps out there for the last two weeks.”

Potts added that they had tried finding other alternatives, such as a tranquilizer. They contacted out-of-area agencies, which couldn’t do anything without a lot of paperwork that would take more time than the group had.

Since the dogs were rescued, Bowman stopped at least twice a day, trying to coax the remaining animals to come near her. For about the last month, she succeeded – somewhat. The dogs would come to within 10 feet of her, but no closer.

“They weren’t nearly as bad as the emaciated ones, but they were skinny,” Bowman said. She and Potts noted that volunteers might have not been able to catch the other hounds if they had been fed for this length of time.

Volunteers agreed that the dogs were in a risky situation at the elevator. Bowman ensured that the animals had plenty of food and water, but started to cut back when it became apparent drugging was the only option. That way, the dogs would be more apt to eat the food.

Bowman and Potts, speaking for the volunteer organization, appreciate the huge support the group has received – donations, advice and people asking how the dogs were.

One of the original hounds rescued in early March was adopted last Saturday, according to an e-mail sent that day to Pet Rescue volunteers by Donna Yarchak of Othello. A Richland couple saw an advertisement in a newspaper and adopted Kona, a black and white hound, Yarchak wrote.

Potts e-mailed the Ritzville Adams County Journal on Tuesday and wrote, “The hounds are doing well. They came around by Friday night and ate well, etc.

“They remain very timid but we have been able to touch them a little bit and they will both take treats out of our hands.

“We decided to name them Deuce (the black and white hound) and Chance (the Rott/hound mix).”