8 rescued dachshund puppies now on Long Island bound for new homes with first responders and veterans

The look in their eyes says it all. Dazed, confused, wary, and yet still eager, eight rescued dachshund puppies, newly arrived on Long Island from the South, have been restored to health and now are bound for new homes with first responders and veterans. 

“The poor guys, they were just so full of parasites, and you know, skin conditions, ear mites, and very emaciated,” said Kelly Basham, northeast director of operations at Guardians of Rescue. She nursed all eight back to health from her Kentucky outpost, so they could be sent to a partner rescue, Paws of War, in Suffolk County’s Nesconset. 

“It’s rewarding at the end of the day to know that we make such a difference in the lives of veterans — to be able to give them a companion animal or a service animal — for all the hard work that the Guardians does from these cases, it is very heartbreaking,” she said of the eight puppies, who are about 11 to 12 weeks old.

“We’re confident they’re all from the same litter,” said Robert Misseri, founder of Paws of War, a not-for-profit that places pets with veterans and first responders.

Blond, white with brown spots, dark brown with cinnamon spots, and the more traditional reddish coat are among their colors.

Puppies usually are adopted out swiftly, especially purebreds, he said. 

About 75% of the dogs Paws of War places are adults, Misseri said. Already training about 30 1- to 2-year olds, it recently took in two 10-week-old Golden Retrievers, rescued from Ohio.

Any adopters must go through a thorough vetting process, Misseri said.

“Before we give a dog out, we’ve got to make sure it’s for the right reason.”

Anyone who wishes to train their puppy to be a service dog can take the group’s free weekly classes — and some graduates keep attending for the camaraderie they experience.

The awful way life began for these puppies was only revealed when their owner, a Mississippi woman, called last month for a coroner after her husband died, officials said. They found 87 dachshunds in that home, along with a child and an adult who both needed protective services.

“I think what it was — she just got overwhelmed, and just couldn’t handle the situation," said Misty Daniels, director, of the local shelter, the Amory Humane Society, Mississippi. “Hoarding can be with anything, items or animal — it just got out of hand.”

Amory, where just over 6,500 people live, according to the U.S. Census, lies 140 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee. On Dec. 11, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies “discovered a rather large concentration of dogs inside the residence,” Sheriff Kevin Crook said on Facebook.

“The conditions inside the home were poor, to say the least. Deputies say the odor was almost unbearable and there were dog feces and old food throughout the residence,” his post said.

The local animal control officer alerted Daniels, whose shelter can handle no more than 100 pets.

She contacted Guardians and other rescues who divided up the dachshunds — about half of which were adults, with some revealing telltale genetic abnormalities from inbreeding, from deafness or blindness to twisted or maimed legs. Still, said Daniels: "Unfortunately, I have seen way worse."