Dolly

DIn mid December, 2009 one of the largest wholesale distributors of exotic animals in the country was served a civil warrant for animal cruelty and was temporarily closed down.   The city of Arlington, TX, SPCA of Texas, and the Humane Society of North Texas confiscated nearly 27,000 animals from 500 different species including over 700 hedgehogs.  Many of these animals had been wild caught and were en-route to pet stores, private owners and zoos across the world.

During the raid the rescuers found hundreds more dead.  Many had been injured or cannibalized due to lack of food and overcrowded conditions. They had been deprived of the very basic of needs...food, water, proper containment and heat. Just after the new year Michael Smith, an Arlington Municipal Court Judge determined that U.S. Global Exotics had in fact cruelly treated the animals and the custody of all the surviving animals was transferred to the SPCA of Texas.  

As an approved Rescue Station with the Hedgehog Welfare Society (HWS) we became involved in the ordeal and we provided a permanent home to some of the “Texas Tumbleweeds”.

Dolly has now settled into her new deluxe accommodations at Indigo Mountain. Initally, she had to be treated for internal and external parasites and clearly displayed extensive emotional problems from her early days in the crowded stock tank at Global Exotics. She is very fearful of everything. She huffs and pops extensively, and rolls herself into a ball at the slightest thing. We continue to work with her to alleviate that fear and build trust with the little girl.