11 Dogs Die In A Van During Rescue Transport In The US

Among 50 dogs, 11 dogs have died while being transported in a van by an animal rescue group from Hattiesburg to Minnesota in north Mississippi, US.

The incident took place on July 7, 2018, when the van carrying the dogs traveled from Southern Pines Animal Shelter, broke down on Interstate 55 in north Mississippi. The two volunteer drivers found 11 dogs dead while unloading the dogs from the van.

Ginny Sims, the Southern Pine Rescue group director said that a veterinarian with the group was sent to investigate the cause of death.

While the actual cause of death has still not been identified, Sims believes that it could be due to Carbon monoxide poisoning from a mechanical malfunction rather than the heat.

Southern Pine Rescue group

“We are committed to help save the lives of pets in need, and any life lost in our care is something we take very seriously,” the organization said on its Facebook page Saturday.

As per locals, the van was standing on the side of the highway for 2 to 4 hours with dozens of dogs outside, before the area animal rescue groups could provide assistance.  

Yvonne Tayler with the North Mississippi Animal Rescue came to offer aid.

“We needed to get the puppies and the dogs to a safe location where we could get them out of those crates cause those crates were nothing but heat traps and we brought them out here to my animal sanctuary,” Tayler said.

Another van helped them take the dogs to Hattiesburg. All dogs were housed overnight at the North Mississippi Animal Sanctuary.

According to a statement released by Southern Pines Animal Shelter on its Facebook page said,

Sims further said that the rest of the dogs didn’t show any signs of suffering from heat-related issues and are fine.

Reference: USA today

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