Chickaloon woman seeks homes for nearly 70 dogs

CHICKALOON -- Anice Williams worked to hold back her tears as Sonny, a beautiful Newfoundland mix was coaxed and, eventually lifted into a car driven by a Palmer couple who had come to her Chickaloon property in hopes of finding a good dog.

"He wants to stay with mom," Williams said, before leaning in to give Sonny, who was poking his nose out the driver's-side window in hopes of finding a way out of the unfamiliar car, one last good-bye kiss.

Sonny's departure marked two dogs adopted, and only 67 still need homes.

To the general public, the idea that one person could collect nearly 70 pets seems unfathomable. But walking through Williams' dog lot, one can see how a soft heart and unwillingness to let others suffer can add up quickly.

"That's Lookout," Williams said. "I got him on King River about three years ago."

Williams explained that she had seen the dog wandering on the banks of nearby King River and, worried he would starve, opened her door to greet him. The black dog leapt into her Cadillac as if that's where he belonged and, as she drove around looking for potential owners, he acted as sentry through the car window.

"That's how he got his name," Williams said.

Five dogs were rescued from the Miller's Reach fire after they were abandoned. Gizmo's owners left for a trip to the Lower 48 and never returned to pick her up. A full sled dog team, now increasing in age, occupy an area to the east of Williams' property, another group of abandoned dogs. Two dogs were purchased in order to rescue them from a man Williams said beat them for simply being dogs. A walk around Williams' property is a walk wrought with stories of hard luck and tragedy -- not so different from Williams' own life.

Williams, hobbling with one foot in a plastic brace, has seven pins in her petite leg. She pauses now and again to catch her breath, a sign of the emphysema that landed her in the hospital last week -- where doctors say she should be now, but she checked herself out in hopes of finding homes for what she calls her kids.

"My main thing right now is just to make sure these animals get good homes," Williams said.

And she has just over a week to do so. Williams was convicted in August by a jury in U.S. District Court on one count of using counterfeit money. Although Williams is fighting the charges, her sentencing date is Oct. 25, and she needs to have the dogs down to a manageable number by that date, or Mat-Su Borough Animal Control officers will haul them away. It's a hard reality for Williams to have to face, but she said she'd rather see them taken away, even if it means many are likely to be euthanized, than watch them starve on the ends of their chains.

Her commitment to the dogs stems from not being able to have a dog when she was a child, Williams said. Coming from a large family, there was never room for pets and she always wanted a dog. Once on her own, she quickly became a pet-owner, often to numerous dogs. In 1990, a Frontiersman article mentions a bus filled with 50 dogs bound for the eastern side of the Valley -- Williams' bus. Williams' son, Larry Eaker, said he remembers his mother always having dogs. But this is the first time she's had so many. Before, he said, she kept around 30 dogs -- and the family has supported her firmly, recognizing that Williams, suffering myriad health problems, gets a lot of hope and motivation from caring for her canine family.

"We've all fought tooth and nail to try to keep them," Eaker said, "but right now, it's just gotten to a large proportion."

So many dogs mean huge food bills, Eaker said, and Williams is quickly reaching the end of her financial rope. She has pawned and sold what she can and depends heavily on help from friends, but the dogs run through about a bag and a half of dog food each day, as well as a lot of time she's now unable to give, as her health problems limit her energy significantly.

And that means added strain on Williams' family. Eaker, who works in the Palmer area, travels the nearly hour-long trip seven days a week after working to feed and water the dogs and make any repairs needed to pens, lots or doghouses. Most dogs are staked out, with access to their dog houses. About a third of the dogs are in pens, some shared by two or three dogs, and all in the shared pens are grouped according to temperament and sex. Although Monday's constant drizzle made for a muddy lot, the lot was otherwise clean and the dogs, despite a bit of late-year shedding going on, appeared healthy, happy and very attentive to Williams.

"They love her," said Tammy Eaker, Larry's wife. She and their two children often accompany Eaker on his journey to Williams' house and tend the dogs together. Tammy Eaker, although she loves the dogs and knows their importance to Williams, recognizes she's got a hard job ahead.

"I'm going to be the one walking the dogs to the Animal Control truck on Oct. 25," Eaker said. "I'm not looking forward to that."

But unless homes are found -- and quickly -- that will be the reality. In the meantime, the Eakers and Williams will be showing the dogs to as many people as possible in hopes of finding homes for Williams' "kids." Anyone looking for a canine companion, Tammy Eaker said, is welcome to call either Williams at 746-6804 or Eaker at 357-6839. The family is also taking donations of dog food -- call for suggested types.

The dogs are mostly familiar with being outdoors, some are housebroken and trained in basic obedience commands, some are good guard dogs or watchdogs, several are good with children and some are good with livestock and other animals. Most of the dogs are in middle age, although some are as young as two years old. There are a few senior citizens on Williams' lot, and a couple with medical problems that Williams hopes won't prevent them from being adopted. Each dog will go home with a collar, doghouse and other supplies.

"There's a dog for everybody out here," Williams said.