CAMPBELL, Mo. — Tuesday afternoon a pit bull-mix had fun rolling around in the grass at the Diamonds in the Ruff Rescue's headquarters in St. Peters, Missouri.
President Annie Sandfort calls the dog, Malin.
"She's cute and as sweet as she can be," said Sandfort.
Sandfort says Monday was anything but pleasant for the playful pooch.
"She was extremely emaciated. She's got a pretty nasty wound on her head. Her ears were covered in fly dirt and she was disgusting," added Sandfort.
Sandfort said word spread fast on social media that Malin and other dogs were living in terrible conditions at the Campbell City Dog Pound in Dunklin County, Missouri.
Investigators with the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Humane Society discovered several violations.
"We need stronger animal cruelty laws in Missouri that's really what people should take away from this story," added Sandfort.
The rescue group shared photos of several dogs they say were in dirty cages, had no food, water and had sores on their bodies.
"This is the norm at some of these rural, small Missouri pounds and it's not okay," Sandfort said.
Campbell Mayor Randall Baker said two dogs died while in the pound.
Another dog passed away shortly after it was returned to its owner Sunday night.
Rescuers call Malin and two other dogs they brought to St. Louis "lucky."
"It's heartbreaking because you can't get to them fast enough," said Angela Cullom, with Diamonds in the Ruff Rescue.
The rescuers say for months, animal shelters in Missouri have been overcrowded.
They say the Dunklin County case underscores a much bigger problem.
"It's absolutely horrendous. Every rescue, every shelter, every government facility, all of them are full right now. Spay and neuter your pets. That's the biggest thing. That's the way to get out of the rescue nightmare we are experiencing," added Sandfort.
Meantime, Malin's nightmare is not quite over.
"In a few months, she'll be pretty much over everything physically, but the mental part will still have a toll," said Sandfort.
Investigators don't know how long the dogs were living in those conditions.
Mayor Baker said the city will make major improvements at the dog pound.
As of Tuesday night, its too early to tell when the rescued dogs will be available for adoption.
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