Adoption fees waived at shelter

MAT-SU -- The Mat-Su Animal Care and Regulation shelter is filled to the brim with dogs after 27 dogs were taken from a home on Soapstone Road and Smith Street near Palmer.

In hopes of finding homes for the dogs, Chief ACR Officer Dave Allison said Friday he's waiving adoption fees on all dogs at the shelter, through Tuesday at 5 p.m. Due to overcrowding, adoption fees for cats are also being waived through Tuesday.

ACR officers were called to the property after a Matanuska Electric Association worker, making a service call, was greeted by dozens of dogs.

ACR officer Mark Thomas said he and two other officers who responded to the call were able to round up 27 of what he guessed were about 35 dogs. There were several puppies milling about, he said, who were wet and shivering with cold. The adult dogs, Thomas said, looked as though they hadn't been fed for some time and appeared to have adopted a pack mentality, swarming for any food that was tossed to them.

While on the property, Thomas said they noticed what appeared to be a grow light on and, through a clear window, saw several marijuana plants. Troopers were called, as was the Mat-Su Drug Team.

Drug Team Investigator Angela Long said she got a search warrant at the Palmer Courthouse that would allow Drug Team officers to confiscate any marijuana or marijuana grow-related items. Long said she returned to the property and waited while ACR officers removed the bulk of the dogs, then acted on the search warrant.

"It was a small marijuana grow," Long said. "There were about 10 plants and some associated grow equipment."

Long said she's still working on the details of the case, so no charges were filed as of Friday. She said it was clear that someone was living at the property, but it wasn't clear whether they were caring for the animals or not, which is why the dogs were removed.

"There was some care lacking for the dogs and, of course, they were all loose, which is in itself a problem," Long said.

Thomas said he and other ACR officers removed as many dogs as he could, but some ran into the surrounding woods and are still likely in the area.

While no charges have been filed, Thomas said ACR staff have been in contact with the dogs' owner and have arranged an agreement with the owner limiting the number of dogs the person can own and stipulating that the dogs must receive regular veterinary exams and care. If ACR officers find that the stipulations are not being met, the owner may lose the right to own animals, Thomas said.

Eighteen dogs from the property are currently available for adoption, Allison said Friday. Some dogs had already been adopted and others had medical or behavioral complications that made the likelihood of their adoption slim. The remaining dogs, Allison said, are friendly and would make good pets.

"Now that they've been with us for about a week, we've fed them, we've interacted with them, we've evaluated them," Allison said, adding that the dogs have also had a vet checkup and have been wormed. "If they didn't have a good chance of being an adoptable animal, we didn't put them up for adoption."

To help the dogs get adopted, and to reduce the overcrowding the shelter is currently experiencing, all dogs and cats at the shelter will have their $20 adoption fee waived, so adoption fees for most dogs will be $67.50 and $62.50 for cats. Of that cost, $30 is refundable upon proof of their spaying or neutering. Incentives are available at the shelter to help cover the cost of spaying and neutering. For more information, stop by the shelter seven days a week or call their office at 746-5500.