Troy Animal Rescue Project is still working on the hoarding house

Jimmy Nichols 

Staff Writer 

Troy Animal Rescue Project is still working on the hoarding house 

Troy Animal Rescue Project (TARP) workers continue to work on the hoarding house, where they found over 100 dogs and 20 cats over the summer. 

In June, TARP officials were called out to the Jack, Alabama, community to rescue what they thought at the time to be 15 dogs. They quickly learned this was not the case when they arrived at the trailer. 

The rural location of the trailer helped hide the animals not only in the house but in the surrounding woods as well, officials say. 

“They’re living in the walls, the flooring of the trailer, the insulation of the trailer and in the woods,” said Tiffany Howington, the director of TARP, at the time. “The females have dug dens where they have had puppies, so it's very difficult for us to find them.” 

Howington had said in June that this was one of the worst hoarding cases she had ever seen, and it would take some time to clear the house. 

Now, after months of hard work, TARP has been able to catch almost all the animals with only a few remaining in the trailer. 

“From now, what we can tell [is] we have fewer than 10 dogs on the property,” said TARP Manager Kayleigh White. “That's just a rough estimate; it could be less than that.  

“It's just from what we are seeing. We are going to make sure all the dogs are off property.”  

The main issue for TARP officials now is the influx of animals they have at their center.  

“We have over 300 dogs at our center now,” White said. “We also have cats, bunnies and birds.  

“It is just a lot of animals.” 

TARP workers are asking for the community’s support, whether it be through monetary donations, volunteer work or just by donating a bag of dog food. 

“Our biggest issue right now is dog food,” White said. “We probably get about 500 to 600 pounds of dog food a day.  

“Just a pallet of that is about $900 to $1,000 from the Tractor Supply store. Imagine spending two to three grand a week just to buy dog food.” 

Monetary donations are also appreciated by TARP. However, volunteers are equally appreciated. 

“Volunteers work from 11 to 3,” White said. “If you are interested in volunteering, our director’s phone number is on our website.  

“There, she can help get you set up with us. We just ask that you give us at least one day's notice.”  

With support needed more than ever, readers can donate or find out other information on how they can help at troyanimalrescueproject.org.