GOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz. — Guardians of Rescue has announced that the last 18 dogs from the now defunct Olympic Animal Sanctuary in Forks will be permanently placed at a California dog sanctuary.
“An organization in California has agreed to take all 18 dogs into their care,” Guardians of Rescue said on their Facebook page Sunday.
Guardians of Rescue, a New York-based animal rescue organization, has not yet released the name of the California group that will take on the dogs.
Representatives of Guardians of Rescue were not immediately available for comment Monday.
The animals were the last of 124 dogs from the controversial Olympic Animal Sanctuary, which housed more than 120 dogs in a warehouse filled with kennels.
Steve Markwell operated the “last chance” sanctuary for dogs for several years before animal activists alleged that conditions inside the warehouse had declined and that dogs were starving and living in squalid conditions.
A series of protests against the shelter in Forks followed the allegations.
Markwell left Forks with 124 dogs in December and turned the dogs over to Guardians of Rescue at a temporary shelter set up on land owned by Rescued Unwanted Furry Friends Foundation in Golden Valley, Ariz.
Guardians of Rescue and several partner organizations built an emergency shelter to house the dogs as they arrived in Arizona, and as of last week, 18 dogs remained.
Those 18 dogs were described by Guardians of Rescue as being in the most severe need of intervention and training by qualified rescue organizations and were not available for adoption by individuals.
Guardians of Rescue will be moving the dogs, kennels, food and housing from the temporary location in Arizona to their new home in California.
The move is expected to be expensive, and the organization is seeking donations to fund the transportation costs, according to the Facebook page.
Donations to help move the final 18 dogs to California can be made at www.guardiansofrescue.org.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.