Meet. Lovely.

When animal control officer Lacey Detweiler was called to scene of a recent hoarding case, the first thing she recalls is the stench. 

“Dogs were stacked in kennels four high and most of them had been living in their own filth for a long time. I don’t think some of them had ever been outside of a cage.” 

To make matters worse, the owners had been dumping toxic chemicals into the bottom of the crates in an effort to “clean” them, and the combination of chemicals (often bleach and ammonia) had created toxic gases and chemical burns. Many of the dogs rescued had to be euthanized due to severe neurological damage.

One small dog, however, managed to survive. 

“I remember going up to her kennel,” Detweiler recalls. “Whereas most of the dogs were barking or cowering in fear, she simply wagged her tail and pushed her nose to the grate to say hello.” Friendly greetings are not always common among hoarding cases, where animals don’t receive proper socialization or positive interactions with humans. 

Lovely, as she was later named, suffered from mange and some minor neurological damage from chemical exposure. She also needed lots of patience and quiet, as she hadn’t been used to a lot of human interaction and became easily stressed by loud noises once she left the kennel environment. But in time, she blossomed into an exceptionally cuddly companion, preferring to hang out on the couch next to her chosen humans. 

MBF was able to fund care for Lovely as well as several other victims of this hoarding case so that they could receive medical care for their injuries which included treatment for mange, parasites, and chemical burns. 

Lovely later found her forever home with a retiree named Joan. Joan worked as a nurse for many years, and recently lost her husband to cancer. Lovely’s presence has been a tremendous comfort. 

“We like to start the day by looking out the front window while I have my morning coffee,” Joan says. “She was a bit shy at first, but she never leaves my side now. It’s been wonderful having her sweet-natured self to keep me company.”