Last week, a human welfare check at a home on Terlingua Ranch revealed 48 dogs living in miserable conditions, in poor health, and with no evidence of human attention or care. The vast majority of the dogs are pit bull mix puppies under the age of 10 weeks.

While West Texas has no shortage of homes where intact pets have multiplied into overwhelming numbers, the dire conditions of this home and the number of very young, very neglected puppies inspired a community to action.

Terlingua is a small and remote place. Despite having few people, not a lot of money, no animal shelter, and being 100+ miles to a vet, when 39 tiny puppies (and two surviving nursing moms, sadly not all the moms were alive when help came) needed immediate relocation, the Terlingua community opened their arms. The puppies are now away from their original home, securely contained, actively supervised, and getting proper food, clean space and enrichment. Let the rescue begin!

OTAT-West Texas was founded in Terlingua to help dogs in Terlingua, and over 7 years has expanded its mission to also transform every single shelter across 8 West Texas Counties into a no-kill facility, while maintaining support in shelterless communities where finding help is hard, expensive and often far away. We hate what has happened to these dogs, but we are so happy to be able to become these puppies’ advocate and commit to getting each the care they need to become healthy, adoptable, and beloved pets.

As we launch this fundraiser, dogs have been named, evaluated, and baseline ages/weights recorded, vaccinations and deworming has begun, waves of vet visits are scheduled, fosters are being recruited, transports are being organized, and hope for a happy outcome for every single one of these dogs is growing. We have rescue commitments for 8 puppies to travel to our sister org OTAT-Chicago within the week, and help from our sister OTAT-PDX (Portland, OR) coming at the end of the month. We are placing dogs into supported foster homes as they are available.

We need your help to cover the significant costs related to food, supplies and enrichment items, vaccines and microchips, spay/neuter, supplies for foster homes, support for dozens of trips to the vet, and transport costs for dogs who don’t have adoption interest locally. Some of these puppies have injuries, all are malnourished, and inevitably there will be complications for some that will require extended treatment. Both nursing moms are in very poor condition. This will be a big lift but the team is assembled and every single one of these dogs is desperate for the new beginning that your donation will make possible.

These puppies and their moms are the underdogs of the underdogs, given their breed, their come-from, and for needing help in such a remote place, but OTAT-West Texas has a proven program and a national network of rescue partners to provide help with placement. We thank you for donating so we can give every pup and both incredible moms a gentle, responsible, and successful rescue journey out of desperation into a loving home.

Please share this fundraiser widely!

You can read more about our work at: www.otatwtx.org

You can read news coverage of the seizure of these dogs at: https://www.firstalert7.com/2026/01/07/man-arrested-after-48-dogs-found-living-brewster-county-home/?outputType=amp