ROANOKE, Va. – Meet Buddy. You may not notice the scars on his face, but before he was taken to a Mississippi shelter, he was shot and left blind. But today, Buddy's life is improving. He's part of a group of shelter dogs finding new homes in the Roanoke Valley.
"We got a little bit of everything this time. Lots of puppies, small dogs, medium dogs, several large dogs," said Matthew Brown, adoption center director for Angels of Assisi.
Angels of Assisi is taking in 40 dogs after that shelter down south closed. Angels' staff members say these dogs could have been euthanized if they hadn't been rescued. Taking in dozens of dogs on short notice is a tough task.
"We essentially just doubled our dog population in about 10 minutes so we'll have extra staff to help care for them, a lot of playgroups and enrichment, get them medically ready and adopted," said Brown.
It took about 20 hours to get those dogs to Angels. Now they're getting the star treatment, from baths to checkups. And if you're watching this and thinking how can I help? Angels is asking for monetary donations as well as toys, food and cleaning supplies.
But most importantly, people are needed to adopt these dogs.
A change of scenery for these sweet dogs, and a little change of pace for Angels of Assisi.
The Roanoke Valley SPCA also took in 36 dogs from Mississippi Friday morning.