According to Fox affiliate KFYR-TV, volunteers that have are finding dogs that had been abandoned when the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters left the Oceti Sakowin camp after the deadline given by the state.
When protesters were forcefully cleared out of the camp last week, they left behind mountains of trash on the 'sensitive wildlife habitat' that crews are still working to clean up, but according to animal rescue group Furry Friends Rockin Rescue (FFRR), protesters also left behind pets.
As of now, volunteers have found two dogs, and six puppies, but the volunteers are quite sure that there are many more hiding around the camp. Finding them has become a much bigger chore due to the fact that many of the animals are scared of the heavy machinery being used to clean up the camp, and go into hiding. FFRR says that they can only go into the camps on the weekends, when the machinery isn't going to continue their search. The amount of trash, and abandoned makeshift shacks make it that much harder to search.
"It's a mess down there, so it's really, really hard to find these animals and get them," says Julie Schirado.
Still, the volunteers are optimistic.
"Extremely sad being these guys were left behind. But we offer, Furry Friends offers hope. I mean there's so much hope within Furry Friends as far as these puppies finding homes," says Tiffany Hardy.
The two dogs that had been found were apparently worse for the ware. Both have signs of mange, and frostbite from the cold North Dakota weather. FFRR says they have prioritized making sure these dogs return to full health.
The volunteers are committed to finding homes for these abandoned dogs. If you would like to help the Furry Friends Rockin Rescue, you can go to their website at furryfriendsrockinrescue.org, and contribute.
