Sampson County
Hounds need our help!

When animal rights collide with property rights and the right to hunt(1) with dogs(2) in North Carolina, the Hounds usually don’t fare well. In this case, however, a few fortunate Hounds will leave behind a huntin’ life (which is really no life at all) because one family said enough is enough and took matters into their own hands. Hounds have appeared on this farm in Sampson County for years, but this year the family is seeing more strays than ever before, and their overall condition is poorer. The rights of hunters, with their “if it’s brown it’s down” mentality, their entitled trespassing in the name of tradition, and the lack of enforcement of local animal ordinances, weren’t going to prevent these dogs from having a good life, not if they could do something about it. As property owners, they could prevail by using a lesser-known, and vaguely written, ordinance(3) to their advantage, namely the right to impound any “domesticated animal or fowl on his property to his injury or annoyance”.

Willow and Zach are two of a group of five or six Hounds that appeared early in the season. They were collarless and thin and had fleas, ticks, and intestinal parasites. Zach also had a nasty infection on his underside. With five dogs of their own and a small house, the only way to secure them temporarily was to build an outdoor enclosure which is what they did.