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Photo by Skip Lawrence
Julia Prentice, left, and Donna Forney work with two of the 17 Labrador retrievers recovered from an unlicensed breeder in Sussex County, Va., at Greenbriar Veterinary Hospital in Urbana on Tuesday afternoon.
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Greenbriar Veterinary Referral and Emergency Hospital in Urbana has 17 new Labradors as of Monday night. Animal Control officials in Sussex County, Va., rescued 54 Labradors from an unlicensed breeder's farm in Stoney Creek, Va., about three weeks ago, said Cheri Markey, a volunteer with Lab Rescue of the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac. "We took 29 dogs," Markey said. Seventeen came to Urbana. A dozen went to Fairfax, Va., and are staying with a vet, Markey said. The rest, younger dogs, remained in Stoney Creek, where they will find homes, Markey said. The dogs in Urbana will go to good homes in the area when they're ready. The Urbana Labradors range from 1 to 3 years old, she said. A vet-check Tuesday revealed broken bones -- one female has a fractured knee. One male dog has a broken jaw, Markey said. The dogs have not been vaccinated, said Jessica Finnegan, the hospital's executive director. "Emotionally, they are traumatized," she said. The dogs lived together in crates so small they couldn't move. "They have never been on a leash," she said. "They've never been on a walk." The animals cowered when they entered the hospital at about 10 p.m., Finnegan said. "They were silent," she said. "They wouldn't eat." A volunteer bounced a few tennis balls, which cheered the dogs up, Markey said. They acted like pups and chased the ball, tails wagging. Over the next few weeks, staff at the hospital will continue working with area vets and Lab Rescue volunteers to help the dogs adjust to their new life, Finnegan said. The dogs will continue to receive medical care until they're ready for adoption, Finnegan said. Lab Rescue, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, picked the dogs up from county Animal Control kennels in Stoney Creek, Markey said. She was one of the volunteers who went there. They rented a 16-foot truck and made the dog crates extra soft so the dogs would be comfortable, she said.
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