# Urgent !!!!! Winter Oak Kennels. Seized by county. TX



## LARAS House Shelter

IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED , PREPURCHASED , OR HAVE CONTRACTED FOR A PUPPY AT THIS KENNEL YOU SHOULD CONTACT THIS NUMBER IMMEDIATELY
PLEASE TEXT [PM user for contact information]
YOUR CALL WILL BE RETURNED.
WINTER OAK KENNELS HAS BEEN SEIZED BY LIMESTONE COUNTY.
THE LOCAL RESCUE SHELTER IS CHARGED WITH GETTING ABOUT 60 DOGS INTO
HOMES RESCUES FOSTERS AND SHELTERS.
MULTIPLE PREGNANT FEMALES AS WELL AS FEMALES WITH PUPPIES.
ALL DOGS ARE SEVERELY MALNOURISHED. AND HAVE A MULTITUDE OF HEALTH USSUES
WE ARE LOOKING FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.
IF YOU ARE GERMAN SHEPARD COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGEABLE PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP
NEEDS:
FOOD FOOD FOOD Dogs were only being fed every three to 4 days.
Veterinarian HELP !!!!
No help is turned away. These dogs have
no houses, no bedding, no tarps for wind breaks, no medical care, no food, water containers are disgusting and green , volunteers needed. Today and tomorrow volunteers will be cleaning water pales but most of the water pales are not salvageable.
If you can think of any thing to help us please do.
These dogs are ALL credentialed. This makes them vulnerable to making it into another puppy mill.
We won't let that happen !!!
PLEASE HELP US !!!!#
PICTURES WILL BE POSTED SOON AND LINKS WILL BE ADDED LATER TODAY

****Post has been edited and contact information removed as solicitation of cash donations is prohibited on this site. - Mod *


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## WNGD

Thank you for what you do.


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## Fodder

@LARAS House Shelter Is there a link to a news article that can be provided regarding this story?


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## Sunsilver

Couldn't find a story when I googled, but the kennel is in Texas, and has both a website and FB page.

If you want to help out, google the shelter's name. It's not hard to find.









Winter Oak Kennel


Winter Oak Kennel, Mexia, Texas. 677 likes · 2 were here. Winter Oak Kennel breeding German Shepard dogs (working and show lines.)




www.facebook.com









German shepherd Puppies


German Shepherd Puppies. White German Shepherds, Black and Tan / Sable German Shepherds




winteroakkennel.wixsite.com


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## Magwart

PM Sent -- the critical info rescues need to know is:
1. Has ownership of the dogs been adjudicated yet? If not, has the owner signed over ownership to your shelter? (In other words, can the dogs *legally* be put on transport?)
2. If ownership of the dogs is in dispute, when will a local tribunal decide?
3. Are the dogs going to be ordered to be held as "evidence" in a criminal case (which can take a LONG time)?
4. Are you open to an outside org coming in to take over care of the dogs? (That's very common in large-scale hoarding cases -- there are some agencies that specialize in coming in and setting up triage shelter situations on short notice).
5. Have they been heartworm tested yet? That's going to impact transfer prospects out of state!


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## Fodder

you are so incredibly valued @Magwart 
hopefully the OP returns.


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## David Winners

Magwart said:


> PM Sent -- the critical info rescues need to know is:
> 1. Has ownership of the dogs been adjudicated yet? If not, has the owner signed over ownership to your shelter? (In other words, can the dogs *legally* be put on transport?)
> 2. If ownership of the dogs is in dispute, when will a local tribunal decide?
> 3. Are the dogs going to be ordered to be held as "evidence" in a criminal case (which can take a LONG time)?
> 4. Are you open to an outside org coming in to take over care of the dogs? (That's very common in large-scale hoarding cases -- there are some agencies that specialize in coming in and setting up triage shelter situations on short notice).
> 5. Have they been heartworm tested yet? That's going to impact transfer prospects out of state!


Ma'am, I have nothing but the deepest respect for you. You are a wealth of knowledge and compassion. 

You just let this crayon eater know if I can help.


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## Sunsilver

Two things strike me as odd: a search for a news story about the seizure drew a blank, and the rescue doesn't have anything about the dogs on their home page.

Hmm...hope the rescue IS legit, but I'd check it out carefully before making a donation! 

Excellent post, Magwart!


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## Magwart

David and Fodder, y'all are kind! David, I hope to someday know half as much about training dogs as you do -- seriously!

@Sunsilver, sometimes things can't go up on FB for legal reasons -- but then it probably shouldn't have been posted here either, if that's the case. I'm VERY surprised the post here mentioned the kennel name. I wouldn't be surprised to see that disappear in the next day or so. It sounds like county authorities maybe ordered seizure with no plan at all in place for housing the dogs?

I'm kind of surprised that Pets Alive! in Austin isn't already all over this, as they're very experienced with emergency response mobilization. Has anyone at this shelter even contacted them? 

Texas A&M looks like it's not all that far -- their vet school has a Vet Emergency Team that deploys in emergencies.

Chasing food donations is also odd. Most shelters have tons of food -- Hill's and Purina One both have shelter programs, shipping pallets of nearly free food. Purina also has regional shelter hubs to distribute food in emergencies to other shelters/nonprofits (a/k/a Purina Shelter Champions - Purina Shelter Champions ), and Purina also does lots of grants. There's also a Texas Pet Food Bank program for nonprofits: r-pal.org . Those folks could probably connect with a manufacturer who would put a pallet of food on a loading dock at a Texas plant, if someone could find a truck and driver to pick it up. Maybe they just need someone on staff to ask Pets Alive! or Humane Society of North Texas to walk them through the grant/application processes for getting a truckload of food. It's a lot of logistics, but there are people who they could call who are REALLY good at navigating this stuff -- and a lot of them are in Texas.

Petfinder and AdopaPet also have emergency grants available for situations like this -- and cover intake vaccines, heartworm tests, deworming, urgent medical needs, etc. ASPCA and HSUS also have shelter grant programs for emergencies.

ETA: I just looked at the shelter website and they ARE connected to the Purina, Pedigree Foundation, Bayer, Walmart Community Partners -- so they know how to access the big resources. I'm really puzzled by the plea for food now.


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## Springbrz

I googled and didn't find any news articles either. I checked out the kennels site and Laras House site. I see reflags.


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## Buckelke

before doing anything I would give these guys a call and see what the story is:





Mexia City Animal Control - Mexia, TX (Address, Phone, and Hours)


Looking for Mexia City Animal Control adoptions or lost pet reports? Quickly find Animal Shelter phone number, directions & services (Mexia, TX).



www.countyoffice.org




Mexia City Animal Control
211 North Sherman Street
Mexia, Texas, 76667 
254-562-4100 
Mon-Fri 8:00 AM-5:00 PM


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## Ashley Mann

Hello. My name is Ashley Mann. I once worked out there. Please contact me asap about any help i can assist with. I know the majority of each and every adult dog there. I miss them so much. I believe they are no longer there. Please. Let me know if i can be of assistants.

[personal info removed, please exchange via PM]


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## Magwart

My understanding from talking with them is that pursuant to the court order, the dogs have already been transferred to various rescues, around the country. I'm sure they'd love to know how the dogs got into the state they were in when they found them, so you might try reaching out to the shelter and sharing what you know of the history.


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## Ashley Mann

LARAS House Shelter said:


> IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED , PREPURCHASED , OR HAVE CONTRACTED FOR A PUPPY AT THIS KENNEL YOU SHOULD CONTACT THIS NUMBER IMMEDIATELY
> PLEASE TEXT [PM user for contact information]
> YOUR CALL WILL BE RETURNED.
> WINTER OAK KENNELS HAS BEEN SEIZED BY LIMESTONE COUNTY.
> THE LOCAL RESCUE SHELTER IS CHARGED WITH GETTING ABOUT 60 DOGS INTO
> HOMES RESCUES FOSTERS AND SHELTERS.
> MULTIPLE PREGNANT FEMALES AS WELL AS FEMALES WITH PUPPIES.
> ALL DOGS ARE SEVERELY MALNOURISHED. AND HAVE A MULTITUDE OF HEALTH USSUES
> WE ARE LOOKING FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.
> IF YOU ARE GERMAN SHEPARD COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGEABLE PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP
> NEEDS:
> FOOD FOOD FOOD Dogs were only being fed every three to 4 days.
> Veterinarian HELP !!!!
> No help is turned away. These dogs have
> no houses, no bedding, no tarps for wind breaks, no medical care, no food, water containers are disgusting and green , volunteers needed. Today and tomorrow volunteers will be cleaning water pales but most of the water pales are not salvageable.
> If you can think of any thing to help us please do.
> These dogs are ALL credentialed. This makes them vulnerable to making it into another puppy mill.
> We won't let that happen !!!
> PLEASE HELP US !!!!#
> PICTURES WILL BE POSTED SOON AND LINKS WILL BE ADDED LATER TODAY
> 
> ****Post has been edited and contact information removed as solicitation of cash donations is prohibited on this site. - Mod *


Please contact me ASAP. I know them by name.


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## Magwart

Ashley Mann said:


> Please contact me ASAP. I know them by name.


Google contact info for LARAS House and try calling them if you have information that would help them understand the condition of these dogs. I'm not contacting you, as I'm not involved in the mess. The person who posted that is not still on this board and probably won't see your post. If there are humans who are still alive who were involved in creating that situation, I expect that they'd like to know about it to learn how it came to be.


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## Ashley Mann

Magwart said:


> Google contact info for LARAS House and try calling them if you have information that would help them understand the condition of these dogs. I'm not contacting you, as I'm not involved in the mess. The person who posted that is not still on this board and probably won't see your post. If there are humans who are still alive who were involved in creating that situation, I expect that they'd like to know about it to learn how it came to be.


Thank you. I have reached out to LARAS house. I have worked for both places. I do not know the story that lead up to the last months but the owner is dead and i agree with all alligations.


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## selzer

If the owner is recently deceased than we can forget all the negative and just help as much as possible. Family members may not have known what they were getting into with taking care of a large number of dogs and things may have gotten out of control quickly. It is a reminder to us to make some sort of plan for our critters if we pass. This is hard enough with one or more pets, but when you are talking about a kennel of dogs, it's definitely something to put some creative thought to.


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## Magwart

I reiterate: the dogs have been dealt with now. They're all in rescues that stepped up to help and transport, despite the significant vet care needs. The time to offer help was a month ago. It's done now.


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## A.Korn

LARAS House Shelter said:


> IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED , PREPURCHASED , OR HAVE CONTRACTED FOR A PUPPY AT THIS KENNEL YOU SHOULD CONTACT THIS NUMBER IMMEDIATELY
> PLEASE TEXT [PM user for contact information]
> YOUR CALL WILL BE RETURNED.
> WINTER OAK KENNELS HAS BEEN SEIZED BY LIMESTONE COUNTY.
> THE LOCAL RESCUE SHELTER IS CHARGED WITH GETTING ABOUT 60 DOGS INTO
> HOMES RESCUES FOSTERS AND SHELTERS.
> MULTIPLE PREGNANT FEMALES AS WELL AS FEMALES WITH PUPPIES.
> ALL DOGS ARE SEVERELY MALNOURISHED. AND HAVE A MULTITUDE OF HEALTH USSUES
> WE ARE LOOKING FOR ANY AND ALL HELP.
> IF YOU ARE GERMAN SHEPARD COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGEABLE PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP
> NEEDS:
> FOOD FOOD FOOD Dogs were only being fed every three to 4 days.
> Veterinarian HELP !!!!
> No help is turned away. These dogs have
> no houses, no bedding, no tarps for wind breaks, no medical care, no food, water containers are disgusting and green , volunteers needed. Today and tomorrow volunteers will be cleaning water pales but most of the water pales are not salvageable.
> If you can think of any thing to help us please do.
> These dogs are ALL credentialed. This makes them vulnerable to making it into another puppy mill.
> We won't let that happen !!!
> PLEASE HELP US !!!!#
> PICTURES WILL BE POSTED SOON AND LINKS WILL BE ADDED LATER TODAY
> 
> ****Post has been edited and contact information removed as solicitation of cash donations is prohibited on this site. - Mod *


I'm just now finding this post... We purchased our female GSD from him in 2017... She will be 6 this year in Nov and has severe hip dysplasia and arthritis that apparently she's had throughout her life that we are just now finding... I wish I would of saw this in 2020 when it was posted because I would of contacted you then.. Hopefullly all the pups are doing well and were rescued out. Breaks my heart.


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