Thousands Apply To Adopt 78 Abused Bulldogs In Westminster

WESTMINSTER, CA — In early November, Westminster police were alerted that a probable puppy mill was raising a stink in the neighborhood. Officials discovered 78 French and English Bulldogs living in deplorable conditions and in need of immediate relocation. Reports say that several dogs were covered in mange, with many having urine burns on their paws. Westminster police seized the dogs and began their criminal investigation of the dog owner, but the journey for those bulldogs has just begun.

The 78 highly sought after puppies are now being cared for by the Westminster Adoption Group Services (WAGS) under manager Cortney Dorney who is assisting in their adoption process. Disclosing their health conditions, Dorney told local news agencies of their current state of affairs.

"We have the ear, the eye, the skin issues, but these dogs were neglected behaviorally as well," Dorney told reporters. "Crates in the garage were stacked on top of each other." Though the French and English bulldogs will need to be house trained, most of the dogs rarely bark and are quite loving, according to that report.

Now, at WAGS, the pups have room to run but still have a lot to learn. On Nov. 14, the first day of adoption applications (see form below), over 5,000 people responded, according to Cortney Dorney.

"The adoption applications are not considered first come first pick," WAGS owners said. "Everyone has an equal opportunity based upon application review."

And that was before the individual pictures and information for each of the 78 dogs was posted on the WAGS Facebook page. The puppies pictures were taken by Huntington Beach photographer, Mike Dorney.

And please, don't call. The recorded message is all that answers, and you can sense the emotion in Cortney Dorney's voice as she describes the dogs up for adoption:

"If you are calling in regards to the bulldogs, all the general information about the bulldogs is on Facebook. We have been inundated with phone calls. The bulldogs are not being shown at this time," Cortney Dorney said on her voice mail message for WAGS. "It has been incredibly difficult to answer questions about the bulldogs, we will be posting applications for adoption on our Facebook page. There are still many other animals at WAGS available for adoption, as well."

Want to help? WAGS accepts donations to their Amazon Wish List, or to their Paypal account, from their website: http://wagspetadoption.org/

As for the investigation on the probable puppy mill, when Westminster police went to the bulldog filled residence, officers discovered the dogs were in such poor condition that some were thought to have been caged for days at a time. Though that has yet to be determined, the smell of the 78 dogs was overpowering for investigating officers, according to Police Cmdr. Cameron Knauerhaze.

"The smell at the residence was so disgusting and unsanitary that some of our officers actually got sick to their stomach and had to leave the property," Knauerhaze told the Los Angeles Times.

Bulldog App - WAGS Westminster by Ashley Ludwig on Scribd

Photo, Mike Tinnion via Unsplash