When Amy Heinz looked into the depths of a central Iowa forest, she saw dozens of glowing eyes stare back at her.
On Friday, Heinz, the CEO of AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport, went to a forest about an hour from her base in De Soto after two hikers called and said they found hordes of dogs.
Heinz and other members of her rescue organization searched for the dogs in the woods that evening. They learned from people in the area that dogs were routinely dumped in the forest — abandoned by people who no longer wanted them and drove away.
"There’s no reason to dump a dog. None," Heinz said. "There’s so many better ways to get your dog help."
The pet rescue was able to trap seven dogs from the forest over the weekend using Egg McMuffins, but at least 20 more are still gathered in packs in the forest.
Officials requested that the location of the forest not be specified in order to discourage people from trying to find the dogs.
Several of the rescued dogs have fresh wounds from being attacked by other canines. One elderly dog, Ralph, got an infection after his eye was wounded. Volunteers witnessed a dog being attacked in the forest after another dog lunged and bit its leg.
All of the rescued dogs were covered in ticks and are being treated for Lyme disease, Heinz said. Their fur showed varying degrees of neglect.
None have shown aggression at the rescue, but some are scared, even when volunteers put leashes on them.
Of the remaining dogs in the forest, some are feral, but there is a female dog in heat that has wounds all over her body from the male dogs.
Heinz said there are generations of dogs living in the forest.
"You can just hear her screaming and hear the boys break out in a fight," Heinz said. "It’s heart-wrenching to hear that because you know what they’re doing to her. That's no way for anybody to live."
Jess Flatt, a forester for the state, said the dogs were most commonly seen on private land inside the forest. The state of Iowa manages 15,000 acres of the forest, while property owners have several thousand acres.
Flatt said she never received reports of dogs being dumped at the forest, but she said she's seen large numbers of dogs around the private property over the past 10 years.
Why do people dump dogs?
Abandoning pets is illegal in Iowa. Violations are a simple misdemeanor.
Deserting animals isn't new or unique in the United States.
A woman was arrested last month east of Springfield, Missouri, after surveillance video showed her dumping a dog, which chased her vehicle as it drove away.
At least 18 Labrador puppies were dumped in upstate New York in June.
One woman dumped a bag of newborn kittens at a condominium complex in Corpus Christi, Texas, in June.
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa hears stories about two or three dogs being dumped, but 20 is a large number, said Scott Wilson, animal welfare intervention coordinator for the ARL. Some of the original dogs may have bred and created a larger pack of dogs.
"It’s sad because there are organizations all over the state of Iowa who will take in animals," Wilson said. "They don’t need to be dumped."
Animals are most commonly dumped in rural areas like farms, Wilson said. Stray feral cats are also an issue in smaller rural communities, requiring shelters to go out and set up traps. Older or injured animals are most likely to get dumped because people don't want to take care of them anymore, Wilson said.
"It’s not rare, but it’s not an epidemic in our state," Wilson said. "People aren’t going out every day and dumping animals, but it happens way too often. There are resources there, so it shouldn’t happen at all."
Heinz said that nobody should have any confidence that dogs dumped in forests, farms and even along the side of the road will live good lives.
One un-spayed female dog that produces a litter in a forest can lead to 67,000 puppies in six years when all of those dogs reproduce, Heinz said.
"People have weird ideas," she said. "They think, 'My dog would love to run around a farm. I’m just going to let it out on somebody’s farm and the dog will live happily ever after.' No, your dog is going to be shot by the farmer.”
Heinz started her organization 10 years ago after she watched a pickup driver dump a black dog on the on-ramp to Interstate Highway 80 at U.S. Highway 169. She later found and adopted the dog and named her Grace.
Since then, she's been working to rescue dogs from similar circumstances, but Heinz said dumping is still common in the area. On Monday, AHeinz57 rescued a dog that was dumped between De Soto and Redfield.
Heinz planned to return to the forest on Tuesday. The remaining dogs will need to be fixed, medicated, groomed and microchipped. Some of them require heavy medical attention and need work on their gums and wounds.
But Ralph, the elderly dog with the wound in his eye, decided to lie down and sleep on Heinz the other day.
And those are the moments Heinz looks forward to for the dogs, once they're ready for adoption.
"We just have to be slow and caring and show them what love is," Heinz said.
How to help
AHeinz57 is taking donations to help with the medical care of the rescued dogs.
People can donate on their Facebook page, website or send a check to P.O. Box 188. De Soto, IA 50069.
