When Nethra Kesanapalli, sophomore, heard about the conditions of the dogs saved from a hoarder’s home on July 30, 2025, she was devastated. 

Kesanapalli, who has an interest in becoming a veterinarian, volunteers at the Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) as a counselor during the summer for the Kids for Critters Camp. She was volunteering when HSMO brought the new dogs into the shelter. 

HSMO rescued 140 dogs and puppies from a hoarding situation in Christian County, Missouri. The dogs were all small breeds such as Shih Tzus and Chihuahuas. They were transported to the Macklind HSMO location to receive health evaluations and emergency veterinary treatment. 

“It was the biggest rescue in a while,” Kesanapalli said. “I don’t know if they’ve had a rescue that big so it was really insane. There were a bunch of pictures of them with matted fur and in triage and it was just really shocking and disappointing to see.” 

Kesanapalli and the other counselors worked to spread the message about these dogs and the supplies needed to support them by posting on Instagram, Nextdoor and asking people for donations. 

“I did whatever I could to try and get them supplies and what they needed so they could be ready for adoption,” Kesanapalli said. 

As of Thursday, Aug. 28, HSMO has been granted full legal custody over the dogs, who are slowly becoming available for adoption. 

JoEllyn Klepacki, director of education at HSMO, was grateful for the community’s support. 

“We received an outpouring of support via monetary donations, wish list donations, volunteer applications and engagement on our social media accounts,” Klepacki said. 

Hundreds of car loads of wish list items, such as blankets, towels, shredded paper, treats and toys were dropped off at both HSMO shelters after the rescue. More than $140,000 had been donated and 138 new monthly donors signed up, Klepacki said. 

Klepacki also shared pictures with campers at the Kids for Critters Camp who were attending camp the week of the rescue. Campers were encouraged to bring in items from HSMO’s wishlist and were educated about hoarding, how to prevent pet overpopulation, pet adoption/fostering and more. 

Klepacki encourages others to continue to support the animals at the shelter who are looking for a forever home. 

“Please foster, adopt, volunteer and keep sharing the animals’ stories on social media,” Klepacki said.

At the start of the year, HSMO conducted a similar rescue to the rescue in July, where they brought in 97 labrador retrievers from an unlicensed breeder in Phelps County. 

Robyn Dexter, marketing communications manager at HSMO, helped take photos of the rescue and ended up meeting a small black labrador by coincidence. She eventually adopted her and named her Onyx. 

“Because she lived in an overcrowded house and spent the entire first part of her life in a crate in a basement, she needed several weeks to fully decompress,” Dexter said. 

Over time, Onyx was able to come out of her shell and exhibit normal dog behaviors, Dexter said. 

Onyx has been with Dexter’s family for two years now, and has also become a part of the Kids for Critters Camp as a demonstration dog for dog training activities. 

“She loves spending time with tiny humans and knows to be gentle and patient with them,” Dexter said. 

Dexter is also a big advocate for adopting rescued dogs, but said it’s important to understand what you’re getting into when adopting from a puppy mill or large-scale breeding/hoarding situation. 

“Many of these dogs have never been held or petted by a human,” Dexter said. “Their world prior to coming to HSMO was likely as big as a crate. Everything is scary [for them], but if you’re patient with them in every aspect of them adapting to your world, they can turn out to be some of the sweetest and most loyal pets.”