OGDEN, Utah (ABC4) On Tuesday night, police removed 152 dogs from a home in Ogden, according to affiliate ABC4. All those dogs were sent to Weber County Animal Services in Utah, putting strain on an already full shelter.

However, the shelter is now emptying some of its kennels thanks to some helping hands.   

A handful of other shelters stepped up and now have more than one-third of those dogs. The shelters will take care of them until they are ready to be fostered or adopted. While affiliate ABC4 was not permitted to film in the area, the shelter did provide a few pictures of what some of them look like. All are small dogs, and some appear to be some kind of chihuahua mix.

Most dogs still at Weber County Animal Services in Utah

While dozens are now being taken care of elsewhere, the majority remain at the shelter. “Some of it’s just kind of a waiting game to see what we can do with the dogs,” stated Animal Care & Community Outreach Coordinator Bailey May. “[We’re waiting to see] which dogs we can move and what medical care they need.”  

“Do you know, roughly, how many you’ve moved so far?” affiliate ABC4’s Kade Garner asked.  

“At least 46 for today so far,” responded May. “South Ogden took quite a few last night, but I can’t remember the exact number. We should have some more leaving this afternoon or tomorrow.”  

Utah shelter saw many volunteers, community donations

Along with other shelters stepping in to help, May said they’ve also had people donate their time, including a veterinarian. She emphasized the importance of their volunteers by saying that the shelter would not have opened to the public on time Thursday afternoon if it weren’t for the people who helped clean kennels all morning.  

The shelter has also had a huge outpouring of community donations. “Our front door was filled with donations this morning, our lobby was filled, and USPS dropped off a ton of Amazon packages this morning,” she explained.

May said that all donations are welcome, but if a person wants to know what the shelter needs the most, the Amazon wish list on the shelter’s Facebook page is the best place to look.  

Utah animal shelter looking for foster families

Even with the help of other shelters, many of the dogs will have to stay put. “Some of these hoarding dogs are not ready to go anywhere,” May said. “They need more care before they’re ready to leave, so fostering the dogs we already have here frees up so much space, and we have such amazing dogs…”  

That is exactly what brought Kathy Dobrowolski to the shelter Thursday afternoon. “They need people to foster so much,” Dobrowolski told affiliate ABC4.

She was there looking to foster a Pomeranian mix named Sparky. She recently fostered a dog, which was adopted two weeks ago, for the first time. “It was so rewarding to get her out of the shelter and let her be free and in a home and just decompress,” she added.  

Dobrowolski encourages others to look into fostering as well.    

Bailey May told affiliate ABC4 that every dog’s situation is different, so they won’t all be up for adoption at the same time. The goal is to have the first dogs ready for adoption by April 21.