Stephanie Jeter: On the Scene

GLADEWATER - They warned me.

"Can you handle this?" another reporter asked Wednesday morning.

I was standing by the newsroom printer tapping my foot - impatiently waiting for a printout, waiting for the machine's green light to tell me the papers were coming.

Sure, I told him.

It was a simple, straight-forward story. And if I had any questions, the e-mail slowly coming out of the printer had all the information I needed.

The headline read sideways in the printer's return basket: "More than 200 cruelly treated dogs to be rescued. ..."

There was a puppy mill in Gladewater, and the Upshur County Sheriff's Office was leading the investigation.

The day before, the sheriff's office contacted the SPCA of Texas to hopefully take temporary possession of the abused pets. As the e-mail printed, three SPCA vehicles made the trip from McKinney with a full load of dog carriers.

They had preplanned, and so had I. I brought closed-toe shoes.

A sheriff's official in Gladewater drew me a map to the location. He told me to prepare myself and my stomach.

"And watch where you step," he added.

I took the map - it was a good one - but skimped on the advice.

The site was bad.

Upshur County Sheriff Anthony Betterton picked the best trail to show the illegal operation, but where there wasn't trash and overgrown grass blocking the way, there were kennels.

The kennels stacked side by side, back to back, each holding barking dogs. No dog looked to be in good condition.

There was death, stench and heartache.

Thank goodness Upshur County wasn't going through the rescue alone, Betterton said. He sent out praise after praise for the SPCA.

"They are out here working for Upshur County at no cost," he said.

For a few hours, "support SPCA" was his new tagline.

Maura Davies, director of communications for Texas SPCA said that's simply what SPCA does.

"We're here for law enforcement officials, as a resource," she said.

I didn't know that.

They assist rescues with legal knowledge, veterinarian care and something Ms. Davies calls "TLC."

After mapping out the area, removing each dog individually and crating them in air conditioned trailers, Ms. Davies said the dogs would get the tender loving care they needed.

All the dogs are being housed at a SPCA in McKinney.

Ms. Davies said the load of pups arrived around 7:30 Wednesday night. Vet care started Thursday.

And it's all at no cost to the community.

SPCA offers more than rescue and investigations. They have shelters, clinics, offer adoptions and teach schools and businesses about animal issues.

They have pet grief counseling, give pet food to those who can't afford it, answer questions on a pet behavior helpline and care for pets if their owners have to escape to a domestic violence shelter.

Yet, there's still so much more. They've been to East Texas before. The most recent big bust was in 2004 when SPCA rescued 301 pets from Van Zandt County.

The organization knows the trees and sandy soil of East Texas, unfortunately because, like Betterton said, the trees help hide illegal animal activities.

To combat, Betterton called to the people. He asked everyone to keep an ear out, open their eyes and report any cruelty to animals.

The SPCA of Texas will respond if needed, Ms. Davies said. The organization runs solely on support from individuals.

All donated money goes to help more animals Ms. Davies said. For more information on SPCA of Texas or to donate, visit www.spca.org.

Stephanie Jeter
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