FORKS –– Utah dog rescue organization Best Friends Animal Society will accept some of the 125 dogs from Steve Markwell’s embattled Olympic Animal Sanctuary.
“Assuming that there are dogs within the OAS population who can safely live within a group housing environment, we believe we will be able to accept several such dogs at our no-kill sanctuary in Kanab,” spokeswoman Barbara Williamson said in an email to the Peninsula Daily News late Thursday afternoon.
Williamson added that Best Friends is offering to find homes in other “like-minded rescue groups” for dogs that cannot be housed at Best Friends’ already-at-capacity facilities.
Citing weariness from weeks of protests outside his pink warehouse at 1021 Russell Road by people who say the dogs are neglected, Markwell said Saturday that he would be willing to close his shelter if Best Friends agreed to work with him to find homes for the dogs.
Williamson said her organization spoke with Markwell’s attorney, Derek Medina of Port Angeles, on Tuesday and received an email from Markwell on Wednesday.
Williamson said that those conversations did not yield information about the “number, condition or temperament” of the dogs, nor whether he intends to give up all his dogs and permanently close Olympic Animal Sanctuary or “simply start fresh and begin bringing in new animals.”
To expedite the re-homing process, Best Friends’ statement urged Markwell to open his sanctuary to any “willing and qualified rescues.”
“In our opinion and professional judgment, the best chance for ensuring the welfare of the dogs is for Mr. Markwell to open wide the doors of the facility and allow all qualified organizations to help immediately and unconditionally,” Williamson wrote.
Markwell could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Markwell founded Olympic Animal Sanctuary to be a home for dogs that were ordered euthanized by courts around the country.
His belief, he has said, is that they should be given a place to live out the course of their natural lives.
The sanctuary’s motto is: “We save dogs you’d rather see dead.”
Best Friends, founded in 1984, is the largest no-kill sanctuary in the nation.
Robert Misseri is president of Guardians of Rescue, which describes it itself as “an animal rights and welfare organization whose members work to protect the well-being of all animals and their owners, and come to the aid of those in distress.”
Misseri has been working with Markwell for “a while” to help find homes for the Olympic Animal Sanctuary dogs.
“I think he wants to see positive results. And I totally respect the fact that he wants these dogs not euthanized,” Misseri said. “But it’s going to be a process.”
Misseri said the number of no-kill shelters is very few. He has spoken with five shelters about possibly taking in Markwell’s dogs, he said Thursday morning.
Many run short on resources quickly and run into troubles of overextending their operations to accommodate the dogs for the rest of their lives.
“He’s got the world on his shoulders right now. He’s taken on a big responsibility there,” Misseri said.
Police reported seeing dogs in good health inside Olympic Animal Sanctuary on Wednesday as they inspected three dogs registered as dangerous with the city.
The registration means that police must conduct annual inspections of conditions for those dogs, Police Administrator Rick Bart said.
Police said that they saw about 40 dogs on the main floor.
Officers Mike Rowley and Todd Garcia went inside the main floor of the 4,000-square-foot, two-story pink warehouse for the inspection Wednesday, but not the top floor.
“We were only there to check on those three dangerous dogs,” Rowley said late Thursday afternoon.
“But I could see other dogs in the background, and from what I could see there weren’t any visible wounds or anything like that.”
The inspection of the three dogs included reviews of permits, licenses and insurance coverage, as well as a review of the dogs’ living conditions and apparent health.
Rowley, who was in an all-day training session Thursday, said his report would be filed Friday morning.
Rowley said the fur of the dogs he could see appeared to be healthy and relatively clean. He described the sanctuary as dirty, but said it did not appear to be unsanitary.
“The conditions were not deplorable. However, they were not a Hawaiian beach,” Rowley said.
“I did not see any feces on the floor at all. However, there was a mild to medium urine smell due to the large number of dogs that’s inside.”
Photos depicting dogs living in travel crates said to have been taken inside by former volunteers and Forks police have been at the center of a Facebook campaign to shut it down for more than the past year.
Rowley said he did not see any dogs in crates. He also did not believe Markwell cleaned up the place before allowing officers inside.
“I do not believe there was a large cleanup process before I got there, due to the fact that there was still dirty hay in the corners, and it was still fairly dirty inside,” Rowley said.
Critics concerned about the condition of the dogs inside had been protesting outside the sanctuary for weeks, though there was only one protester reported on scene by police Thursday.
Maggie McDowell, a protester from Seattle who spent last week demonstrating in front of Markwell’s sanctuary, said she was happy that police reported the dogs they saw were well, but said more inspection is needed.
“I’m delighted to hear they did the annual dangerous dog inspection. I think that’s really important,” McDowell said.
“I trust them. But they were there on a very limited scope. I think there’s a lot more that needs to be inspected.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
