FARMINGTON — An adoption special, Dog Days of Summer, at Franklin County Animal Shelter on Saturday found homes for five adult dogs.

For the special, the shelter offered $50 off the regular adoption price.

The shelter recently experienced a huge influx of dogs, Heidi Jordan, executive director, said.

Thirteen dogs, including seven black Lab puppies, were recently given up for adoption after the owners were arrested and charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and manufacturing it at a home in Phillips.

An adult pregnant German shepherd was also surrendered when Jordan brought the necessary paperwork to the jail.

Another 18 dogs came under shelter care from being on the end of a puppy pipeline, she said of the dogs who arrived at the end of July. 

The pipeline is an underground way of moving dogs from southern shelters to ones up north. They are moved in the dark of night, she said.

The shipment is being investigated.

Some of the dogs were emaciated. They looked awful, she said. Many animals had muscle atrophy from a lack of exercise, or worms and Giardia.

Dogs that had not already been spayed or neutered underwent the procedure at the Franklin County Animal Shelter.

The dogs include a Schnauzer-terrier mix, black Lab mixes, pit bull mixes, a cattle dog and hounds, she said.

These came at a time when the shelter was already scheduled to receive 11 dogs from an Arkansas rescue shelter, she said. 

Jordan had picked up an animal transport van from Androscoggin Humane Society to pick up the dogs being sent from Arkansas when she was contacted to help with the puppy pipeline dogs.

She felt the shelter could accommodate them, she said. The animals would also be able to receive veterinary care.

The dogs from Arkansas are already spayed and neutered, and the necessary vet work was completed, she said. There was a German shepherd mix, a Corgi mix and puppies, black Lab mixes and a Rottweiler-and-hound mix.

“It’s a strange situation — we can’t meet the demands for small dogs,” she said. “While in the southern part of the country, huge numbers of dogs are euthanized.”

The shelter already had some dogs from this area, she said. All of the dogs have been treated for worms, a six-day treatment procedure, she said.

The puppies can be visited and applications taken for them but they cannot go home until they are at a proper weight and medically cleared for release.

Most of the available adult dogs can be seen on the shelter’s website and Facebook page.

abryant@sunjournal.com