Norfolk SPCA raises funds in wake of ‘husky emergency’
Four ailing dogs were dropped off at shelter last weekend without notice
The Norfolk SPCA opened an emergency fund for the medical care of several huskies after they were abruptly dropped off late Saturday night.
Though the shelter already was over capacity, a home-based rescue in North Carolina that secured the huskies from a backyard breeder transferred them to the SPCA without notice.
“We were not in a position to take the dogs — but they were here,” SPCA executive director Kimberly Sherlaw said. “So we rallied our management team and said, ‘OK, we’ll have to make this work.’ ”
Three adult dogs and one puppy arrived, severely neglected. The puppy, 6 or 7 weeks old, was emaciated, dehydrated and has an eye injury, Sherlaw said. The adult huskies all have parasites, including heartworm.
As of Thursday afternoon, the SPCA had raised $27,000.
Sherlaw said the team needs the funds to have the puppy see an eye specialist and deal with the adults’ health concerns.
“They don’t wanna eat, they’re underweight, they’re dehydrated, so they’re in pretty rough condition from a physical standpoint” Sherlaw said. “From a mental standpoint, also, they were pretty shot down.”
On Tuesday, a good Samaritan in Virginia Beach contacted the SPCA to let them know she had fostered a bonded pair of huskies from the homebased rescue, picking them up at a 7-Eleven parking lot in Norfolk. She was concerned about the male husky’s lethargy and lack of appetite.
After examining the husky, whom they named Viking, the SPCA team determined it would not be able to improve his condition and euthanized him.
Sherlaw said her team is concerned there may be one or two other huskies who were transported with them and were also fostered to a good Samaritan.
“We’re very concerned if there are one or two that are out there are not being treated based on the fact that the male that we ended up euthanizing was such in such poor condition,” Sherlaw said. “It was heartbreaking.”
On Thursday, Sherlaw said all the huskies are stable.
“We’ll know more, which is a great thing, after today about their health conditions and then we’ll know the next steps that we could take to go forward,” Sherlaw said. “So we feel really positive, we just know that it’s a journey and it was a little overwhelming for our team at first.”
To donate, people can go to the Norfolk SPCA Hope Fund and designate a donation as “Husky Emergency.”