Dogs found on roof still in home, owner open to adoption to good homes

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — OzarksFirst is working to get answers and solutions for a story that continues to generate buzz on social media.

Monday, concerned neighbors contacted authorities when three dogs found their way onto the roof of a home in north Springfield.

The owner of the dogs told OzarksFirst in previous stories that she would maintain caring for the dogs, but due to the condition of the house and lack of heat, the family had to leave the home and stay in a motel but couldn't take the dogs with her.

We stopped by this morning to see if the dogs were still in the home, and they were.

Hours later, around 3:15 p.m. the owner stopped by to check on and feed the dogs, her second of three drop-ins that she says she does daily.

She says there's been stress trying to find a solution for the dogs and says she's open to adopting them out.

During that conversation, one of the dogs heard us talking in the front yard, and walked onto the roof before the owner went back inside, got the dog back indoors, and boarded up the open window.

She says separation anxiety is an issue for the pets, going from a family of eight to none inside the home.

The owners say if people are interested in adopting the pets, they're welcome to leave their contact information inside the mailbox at the home.

We reached out to Animal Control with Springfield-Greene County Health and while they declined an interview, Lauren Stockham, a representative with the agency gave the first formal statement on the situation.

It reads, "We cannot release details about specific cases. If we receive a call concerning the welfare of animal, we will attempt to contact the owner. If we can’t contact the owner, we will leave a written letter at the property. If the letter has not been acknowledged within 72 hours, we seek to obtain a warrant from Municipal Court."

OzarksFirst asked if they were able to comment if Animal Control has or had done all they can do to help and was told they cannot comment on any specific case.

Many on social media have suggested a shelter stepping in and helping with the dogs but McKenzie Palmer with the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri says there's not much they can do.

"I did see the post and that was posted online. And we've been getting tagged in that a lot and seeing the dogs on the roof and everything. So we are aware of the situation. Unfortunately, the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri doesn't have any legal authority to go onto people's properties and do welfare checks or to take animals from a home," Palmer said. "If it's the owner's dogs, you know, you can't just go take property away from without the owner's consent, you know, So that again, would be something animal control would need to go through their proper steps to do that. So we just cannot go onto their property."

She says there's no room at the Humane Society even if the dogs were brought to them.

"Even if the dogs were brought to us, we just don't have the kennel space to take that on. We wish we could help out, but we don't have the bandwidth right now, unfortunately," Palmer said.

We'll continue to update this story as we learn more.