New Chances Humane Society co-president Crystal’ynn Rilea, left, with one of the 10 puppies that have been at the animal shelter and are being adopted.

New Chances Humane Society (NCHS) co-president Crystal’ynn Rilea has been keeping busy as of late. Specifically, she’s had her hands full with a happy, healthy litter of 10 puppies and their mother, all of which were rescued from the property at 716 East Third Street.

“I first learned about these animals after I got a call from the Blue Earth -Nicollet County Humane Society (BENCHS) on May 3,” Rilea recalls. “They called me with a message from Dustin Pierson, who mentioned that NCHS had been helping him with his two dogs, which we hadn’t even heard of until that point. We also were told that the female dog was pregnant. I gave Pierson a call and asked if we could spay the female after she gave birth to her litter, but he told me no.”

The next day, May 4, Rilea ventured out to the property to check on the animals. However, she was met with immediate resistance by the other homeowner, Cassandra Gimmer, being told that Pierson wasn’t home, the dogs were fine, and that she wasn’t allowed to come inside.

“I told them I was just there to check on the dogs,” Rilea shares. “Gimmer asked if I wanted to see two of the puppies and I said sure. The puppies looked healthy, and they were old enough that their eyes were open, but I happened to look down and saw that she was standing barefoot, right on a pile of broken glass.”

Shortly after her visit to the property, Pierson and Gimmer were both arrested and imprisoned, and the dogs were handed over to one of Gimmer’s friends, Mandy, for safekeeping. It was then that Rilea got a call from Mandy, asking if she could take all 11 dogs off her hands.

“I had to work with Blue Earth police chief Tom Fletcher to be able take the dogs to NCHS, as he told me that the animals had been given into Mandy’s care and she was the one who needed to initiate the transfer,” Rilea explains. “Eventually we were able to come collect all of the dogs, and we brought them back to the kennel.”

The day after NCHS got custody of the animals, Pierson was released from jail, and immediately started asking where his dogs had ended up. Rilea explained that the dogs were in NCHS custody, and explained the city ordinances that needed to be followed in order to get his animals back.

“I asked him if he had gotten any of the dogs registered with the city, or if any of them had been vaccinated, but he just kept asking me for an invoice,” Rilea notes. “I did eventually send him one for $260, which covered the cost of the dogs being picked up, fed, and cared for overnight. I didn’t hear anything back.”

After a five-day holding period where neither owner showed up to claim the animals, all of the puppies were cleared to get their vaccinations, and appointments were scheduled to get all of the animals spayed and neutered. It wasn’t until day six, at which point the dogs would be legally considered forfeit and under the ownership of NCHS, that the owners showed back up demanding their animals.

“I provided Gimmer and Pierson with an updated invoice, which was now over $1,000 to cover the cost of the puppies’ vaccinations and the five days of care,” Rilea recalls. “They kept telling me they would get the money together and pay for their animals, but we didn’t hear back from them for another nine days.”

By this time, it was June, and the Blue Earth City Council had been informed of the hazardous nature of the property of 716 East Third Street, as well as the status of the dogs. It was also around this time that threats started being sent to NCHS from Gimmer, claiming that the dogs had been illegally seized and that she was threatening legal action against them.

“This is when the City Council instated a temporary five-day hold for the dogs to give the owners one last chance to get their animals back, which is what was discussed at the most recent City Council meeting on June 15,” Rilea explains. “That was also the meeting where the council decided that, if NCHS couldn’t take the animals, they would authorize euthanasia for them. For the record, we are a no-kill shelter, and always will be; our plan was always to take care of the puppies.”

This news, which was published two weeks ago in the Register, sparked an outrage. Community members showed up at the kennel that very Friday, June 19, intending to rescue the puppies.

“We had people showing up on Friday night, linking arms in a line in an attempt to save the dogs,” Rilea recalls. “We also got a lot of adoption and foster requests for the puppies that night, but at that point the ownership of the dogs was still up in the air, so there wasn’t much we could do at the time.”

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. All 11 dogs are alive, happy, and healthy, with six of the 10 puppies now living in foster homes with loving families who intend to adopt them. The remaining four puppies, along with their mother, are currently living at NCHS.

“We came to the Blue Earth Community Market on June 20 with the puppies, and posted a Facebook Live video telling people that they could come out and see the pups,” Rilea shares. “Morgan Myers has been a huge help in spreading the word about these dogs, and four of them have already been fostered.”

Myers has also been busy organizing fundraising efforts to help out NCHS, with Ryno Repair offering to match up to $250 in donations to the shelter. ESCO, Ankeny Builders, and Coxworth Water Conditioning have also joined this $250 matching donation incentive. Both M&M Transport and M&M Properties have donated $500 to the shelter, and $200 was donated by Caveman Custom Contracting. Plus others are donating as well.

“NCHS has received $225 in donations through our page on ShelterLuv, along with a donation of four bags of puppy food,” Rilea explains. “Gordo’s Tacos is also going to be running a promotion during the Community Market on July 4, where 50 percent of the proceeds will go towards the shelter.”

Both Rilea and her co-president Lynn Albrecht have been absolutely floored by the amount of community support that has come into NCHS over the last month, but Albrecht notes that there’s still plenty of work to be done at the shelter.

“It really takes a community to care for all of the animals here at New Chances,” Albrecht explains. “These puppies have been super impactful for the community because everyone has been following the story of the property and its owners, and know how bad the conditions are there. But there are plenty more animals here at NCHS that need this same kind of love and support.”

“We still need to get all of the dogs spayed and neutered before they get adopted, since we had to reschedule their original appointment,” Rilea shares. “It’s been a very busy year for our local vets, and for us as well. But I don’t think I could ask for more support from our community – between all of our staff members and our countless volunteers from the community, it’s great to see that help is finally showing up.”