SAN ANTONIO — Joann Henderson said she was with her husband last week when she spotted four dogs on the road in a box. When she approached them, they took off running around the street and bushes. Henderson knew she needed help to get them to safety.
“I went back home and got on my computer and on NextDoor. I posted: 'Hey, there's four mixed chi-pups that were probably dumped in the neighborhood,'” she said. Henderson said her call for help was answered immediately by several of her neighbors.
“We had to set traps. Everybody from different subdivisions, Geronimo Village, Waterford Park, Kallison, started looking for the dogs. They would zip over here and zip over here. It was hard, but we captured them,” she said.
Neighbors say they are often rescuing dogs that are abandoned by strangers in their area. “They'll usually leave them at FM 471. Half of them get run over and some of them come into the neighborhood,” Henderson said.
In this case, all four dogs were adopted by residents. Chloe, the dog that was pregnant, is still at Mission Veterinary Hospital. Her puppies did not survive. Neighbors say she went into surgery and has an infection. The residents who helped rescue the dogs are now facing expensive veterinary bills. The generous people who took ownership of these dogs are retired and need help covering costs.
“I don't know if people are just breeding them, or just for money,” Henderson said. “Get them spayed or neutered. That's the big thing. If you can't keep them, turn them into animal control or the humane society.”
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