‘Crisis’: More than three dozen homeless dogs arrive in Massachusetts from Texas, MSPCA says

SALEM, Mass. — Your new best friend may be from the Lone Star State.

More than three dozen homeless dogs flew into Massachusetts recently as part of a new collaboration to save the animals between the MSPCA and a Texas animal shelter.

The flight carrying the 39 dogs arrived in the Bay State on Saturday afternoon, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Thursday.

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It is the first collaboration between the MSPCA and Operation Kindness, an animal shelter in Carrollton, Texas, one of the states hit hardest by the ongoing national dog population crisis.

The dogs were brought to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem.

“This is the beginning of what we hope will be a longstanding relationship that will help hundreds of animals, and it couldn’t have started at a better time,” MSPCA-Angell Vice President of Animal Protection Mike Keiley said in a statement on Thursday.

“Texas is one of the toughest states in the country when it comes to pet overpopulation, especially dogs, and Operation Kindness has been working extraordinarily hard to do everything in its power to help,” Keiley said. “But the dog population crisis is a problem that requires everyone in animal welfare to band together to address, and this partnership is a perfect example of that.”

Previously, more than two dozen dogs from Texas also arrived at Hanscom Field in Bedford on April 23.

Two organizations, one mission

Operation Kindness takes in and rehomes pets surrendered by their owners while also acting as a “so-called way-station” for more than 100 partners in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, shelter officials said.

“Operation Kindness is really unique in that it’s tackling the biggest animal welfare problems facing the South right now—and those are huge problems,” Keiley said. “They’re providing a lifeline to big municipal shelter systems, like Dallas Animal Services, by taking in some of their animals.”

Keiley estimates that shelter system alone takes in an average of more than 100 animals every single day.

“Dallas Animal Services is a prime example of the enormous challenge the entire state of Texas is up against. It’s dealing with the largest pet overpopulation problem of any state in the country, second only to California,” Keiley said.

“Given that rehoming such an immense number of animals locally is next to impossible, we knew we needed to step up and shift resources there,” he said. “We’re helping Operation Kindness continue its lifesaving work by bringing dogs here to Massachusetts, where there are more adoptive homes.”

‘Adoptathon’ planned

The Operation Kindness dogs range in age from two months to three years old. They are a variety of breeds and sizes, including Chihuahuas, Poodle mixes, Hound mixes, and Pit Bull mixes.

They are also the inspiration behind the MSPCA’s next fee-waived adoption event, called Texas Home ‘Em, for all dogs aged one and older that weigh at least 40 pounds.

“We’ve been saying for a long time that the dog population crisis is a national problem that’s quickly reaching a breaking point,” said Keiley. “In order to fight it, we all in animal welfare need to do everything we can to rehome dogs faster, and adoption events like Texas Home ‘Em are key in doing that.”

The adoptathon will be held during open hours at the MSPCA’s shelters in Boston, Methuen, Salem, and Centerville on Cape Cod, beginning June 3 at the Northeast Animal Shelter, June 4 at the other three locations, and running through June 9 at all shelters.

It’s the first of three special summer adoption events the MSPCA plans to hold in the coming months, officials said.

“The summer is a time when stray animal populations tend to spike and these adoption events have proven success at finding a lot of dogs homes in a short period of time,” Keiley said.

“We’re planning to hold them throughout the summer to ensure that we’re able to continue taking dogs in from other parts of the country, like Texas, that are desperate for help without our own population skyrocketing,” he said.

The MSPCA will announce details of future adoption events once they are finalized, he said.

More information on the Texas Home ‘Em adoptathon may be found at mspca.org/dogs.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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