Eight dogs and four cats left with no water or food at a house in Anniston were rescued over the past week by the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.

Abandoned animals like these account for a large percentage of the animals that come through the shelter, said Nancy Richards, Humane Society administrator.

She estimated that 20 percent of the animals at the shelter have been abandoned either left without proper food and water or dumped on someone's property.

Instead of dumping animals or abandoning them, the shelter can provide an option, a chance for the animals to find a new home, Richards said.

Missouri has laws against animal abuse and neglect, which include abandonment. The Humane Society has been involved in legal action against pet owners.

Richards said the Humane Society will become involved in the legal system if necessary. But the most important thing, she said, is the animals. "I could not sleep knowing animals were suffering like this. We do anything we can to get these dogs in our possession," Richards said.

"We get a lot of our animals from people who find them after they have been just dumped," Richards said.

"It's really sad. They've been pets. Even outside dogs cannot make provisions for their own food and water.

"There is a sweet man who comes in about once a month and brings us a dog and leaves a donation. These are not his dogs. People routinely dump them on his property.

"We even had a pig one time that someone dumped on a lady's front porch," Richards said.

The Humane Society was called to the house in Anniston last week. The animals were taken from the house to the shelter in Cape Girardeau where they received medical attention.

"The animals were all dehydrated and starving," Richards said. The dogs also suffered from the mange. Six of the dogs were euthanized.

A local veterinarian has offered assistance in treating the two dogs that are alive.

"The first dog has really rebounded, and it's looking fantastic," said Richards. "The other one, we don't know if it will make it or not. We have to get some weight on that dog before we can really treat the mange."

One cat was brought to the shelter last week. The other three cats arrived at the shelter Monday. "The cats are very, very thin and their coats are very dull. The cats we got in today will take some work."

But, she said: "One of the cats has already been adopted. An older couple adopted that cat. I explained the whole situation and they wanted to help. That cat is still pretty thin but it should be okay now.

"I wish I could say things like this don't happen on a regular basis," Richards said. "But it happens fairly regularly, and, if we get the call, we're going to do something about it."

Richards said calls come from all over. In cities like Cape Girardeau, animal control officers take care of situations like these, she said.

"But the surrounding areas don't have anything. We're their only resource."

In the fall Richards was involved in a case at Advance where 13 dogs had been left in a house by a woman who was committed to a mental hospital.

"By the time we were notified, three of the dogs were already dead," Richards said. "The other dogs were dehydrated and starving.

"At Advance we had to get involved in the legal system," Richards said. "We cannot go in and just rescue these animals because they do belong to someone. We had to go to the prosecuting attorney and then a judge to get a court order to confiscate the animals."

The owner of the animals apparently remembered her pets three or four weeks after she was admitted to the hospital and asked her counselor to "feed her dog."

Of the 10 dogs recovered in this incident, three were adopted, Richards said.

"Considering the condition of the animals, we thought that was quite good," she said.

"We always try to save the animals if we can," Richards said. "They deserve a good home after what they've gone through."

The Humane Society also was involved in another case concerning two chow dogs trained to guard a marijuana field. Their owner was arrested and jailed, and no one was able to care for the animals. The owner signed over his rights to the dogs to the Humane Society

"The male was vicious," Richards said. "But the female we were able to eventually get adopted.

"I've made a lot of calls at night and on holidays to help all these abandoned animals," Richards said. "We do a lot more than just put animals to sleep here. We try to rescue any animals that we can."