ohmidog!

Here’s some raw video from the Humane Society of the United States of officials shutting down the Whispering Oaks Kennel near Parkersburg, West Virginia, where about 1,000 dogs were seized over the weekend.

The dogs were surrendered by the kennel owner after county officials executed a search warrant. Sharon Roberts, who owned the Internet-based business agreed to give up the dogs and refrain from operating a breeding business in exchange for not facing charges.

Her husband, Edwin R. Roberts, however, was arrested by the Wood County Sheriff’s Department Sunday on charges of assault of a police officer and obstructing a police officer, according to The Intelligencer.

It took two days to move all the dogs into a Parkersburg warehouse for temporary housing.

Some of the volunteers helping to move and care for the dogs were from Parkersburg. Others were from the Humane Society of the United States, Best Friends Animal Society, the Humane Society of Missouri, the Tampa Bay Disaster Animal Response Team and United Animal Nations.

The dogs were kept in wire mesh enclosures, most about 3 feet by 3 feet, authorities said.

Carrie Roe, the Humane Society of Parkersburg’s board president. said dogs who have lived their lives on wire mesh often have difficulty learning to deal with other surfaces.

“These dogs have had very little human attention, they fight for it. Dogs from puppy mills typically don’t do well with other dogs. These dogs have never been on a leash,” she said.

To donate or volunteer to help with the 1,000-dog rescue, call the Humane Society of Parkersburg at 304-422-5541.

Around 1,000 dogs were removed from a kennel near Parkersburg, West Virginia after authorities said they were kept in cages for breeding and were never let out and rarely, if ever, touched by a human being.

“Imagine you live your entire life inside your house — one room inside your house — and you never leave it,” Maryann Hollis, director of the Humane Society of Parkersburg, told the Parkersburg News and Sentinel for Monday’s edition. “Once a week, somebody dropped groceries at your door. That’s what life was like for these dogs — just one room, wire mesh, and you pooped where you slept.”

The animals were surrendered by Whispering Oaks Kennel Saturday after Wood County sheriff’s deputies investigating possible dog-related pollution executed a search warrant at the Internet-based dog-breeding business, according to an Associated Press article.

The humane society calls it the largest animal rescue in the state’s history.

Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley said the owner, Sharon Roberts, hasn’t been cited for animal neglect but has agreed to never operate a dog-breeding business again.

Roberts told The Associated Press she was the victim of a “witch hunt” by animal rights activists. She told the Charleston Daily Mail that the dogs were well cared for by herself and her five employees. Each dog was wormed and vaccinated and regularly visited by a veterinarian, she said.

Roberts, even if she had been charged with a crime, which she wasn’t, would still be innocent until proven guilty. That said, and completely unrelated to this case, of course, there is one sure-fire way to avoid being the victim of a witch hunt: Don’t be a witch.

Here’s a video that’s making the e-mail rounds.

Unfortunately, this version has some silly annotations. 

Still, there’s some great footage — and some solid arguments on why your dog should be on a leash, or maybe why he shouldn’t be.