Liz Adams, a volunteer at the Lawrence Humane Society, carries in one of nearly 50 dogs that were brought to Lawrence on Friday after they were rescued from a breeder in Marshall County.

The dogs were so deprived that grass was a welcome sight.

On Friday, the Lawrence Humane Society took in 49 of the 187 dogs and puppies the state seized from an unlicensed Marshall County retail breeder who endangered the dogs’ health.

“It was just horrible,” said Midge Grinstead, the humane society’s executive director. “To just not help them, you’re supposed to be selling them and being a good breeder. And obviously, he wasn’t.”

Now, Grinstead hopes to find better homes for them.

The Kansas Animal Health Department seized the dogs July 23 through a court order after owner John Huninghake, of Frankfort, had failed inspections and endangered the dogs’ health with substandard living conditions, said Debra Duncan, director of the department’s Animal Facilities Inspection Program.

The Lawrence Humane Society often steps in to house animals when the state makes a seizure or a shelter closes.

Duncan said inspectors and a veterinarian found the dogs were severely underweight – some to the point of emaciation. Animal pens were too small and overcrowded. The dogs were not allowed to exercise. Some of the dogs also had skin injuries and had not been groomed for several months.

“Sanitation was terrible, all over the entire facility,” Duncan said.

She said Huninghake had been operating for only about one year, and he had failed several inspections. In June, the state offered him an agreement, but he said he planned to sell his business and the dogs.

But Duncan said the state verified that he had not contacted auctioneers or other potential buyers, so they went back for another inspection and eventually obtained the search warrant.

Huninghake was scheduled to have a hearing Thursday in Topeka about the seizure, but instead he signed over ownership to the state, Duncan said.

After the dogs were initially seized, the department took them to an emergency shelter in Great Bend, which was an abandoned shelter. They received medical treatment and vaccinations. Grinstead, who went there earlier in the week to assist the state, said the dogs finally were able to frolic in the grass.

“They rolled in it. They loved it. They didn’t want to leave it,” she said.

When the state gained ownership, the department worked to find shelters for the dogs. They have been taken to adoption shelters across the state, including Wichita, Ottawa, Hays, Great Bend and Topeka.

The animal health department also is investigating the potential for fines against Huninghake, Duncan said. The state also is seeking to recover costs of the care for the dogs this week, she said.

Anyone in the Lawrence area seeking to adopt one of the rescued dogs – which include golden retrievers, huskies, Bernese mountain dogs and boxers – needs to ask specifically to see those dogs, Grinstead said.

“We’re hoping that a lot of people can come in this weekend and we can get them right out the door,” she said.

The humane society will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.