In March 2023, the Bloomington Animal Shelter took in 68 dogs, mostly Carolina dogs, from an unauthorized breeding operation in Bloomington, which people familiar with the case described as the largest animal hoarding complaint ever received in Monroe County.
In the months following the animals’ seizure, Bloomington Animal Shelter and animal control representatives worked closely with the dogs, many of which were extremely under-socialized and traumatized, to help them get adopted.
Almost two years after the seizure, one animal, a Carolina dog named Mortimer, is still waiting on adoption.
The Indiana Daily Student spoke with the families of five of these Carolina dogs about their experiences after adopting their pets.
Eleven and Zeke
Karen Smith Kelly and Mike Lloyd Kelly have always loved dogs, specifically Carolina dogs. Their first dog, Candace, who they adopted in 1998, was a Carolina dog, so when their last dog passed away in October 2023, they knew they wanted to adopt another.
When Karen and Mike came across Eleven, a light-beige female Carolina dog, on Petfinder, they were excited. And when they learned another Carolina dog, Zeke, was available, they started the adoption process for both of them. Ultimately, Mike and Karen embarked on a cross-country road trip in November 2023 to meet their future pets, driving their motor home from Maryland to Bloomington.
However, Mike said the couple “didn’t know what we were getting into” when they took in the two dogs. They only knew the dogs were seized from a breeding operation in March 2023. Karen said Eleven’s teeth were eroded, which she believes is from chewing on a wire cage.
Mike said Zeke never had the chance to have a normal puppyhood and was not well socialized to interact with other dogs and humans.
“The whole world is unfamiliar to him,” Mike said.
Eleven is pictured. Karen and Mike Kelly found Eleven on Petfinder.com.
Zeke is pictured in Mike and Karen Kelly's home. Zeke started going outside this year.
The couple said it’s taken a lot of effort to help the dogs overcome their fears and build trust. Eleven used to regularly shake and tremble when she first arrived at Karen and Mike’s home, but now she is comfortable with them.
Almost a year after Karen and Mike adopted them, Eleven and Zeke have come out of their shells.
Karen said Zeke likes to run though the house at night and sounds like a “galloping horse.” He often sleeps in the same room as Karen and Mike, and he started venturing outside to the backyard in August — the couple built a fence surrounding their property for the dogs.
Eleven spends most of the day lounging in the center of Karen and Mike’s L-shaped couch. She hasn’t started going outside yet, but she has also grown more comfortable with her living arrangements. Eleven loves Karen and Mike’s young granddaughter and even allows Karen to clip her nails and put a collar on her.
Karen and Mike said they hope to take the dogs camping one day.
"They are wonderful beings that deserve to have a home,” Karen said.
Journey and Kaia
When Journey and Kaia ran in the woods behind their Bloomington home one October afternoon, the two Carolina dogs seemed to shed their past behind them. Climbing over branches and balancing on fallen trees, Lisa Beyelia said it’s clear the outdoors is where “they were born to be.”
It’s taken a long time for the dogs to get to this point, however. Beyelia adopted Journey and Kaia shortly after they were seized from the unauthorized breeding operation.
She volunteered to foster Kaia almost immediately after the seizure in March 2023. Kaia wouldn’t leave her crate for the first four days she was with Beyelia, scared of the unknown stranger she was now living with. It took a month for Kaia to even go outside, and Beyelia said she kept tripping over her own legs — a sign that her legs had atrophied.
“Eventually she just decided I wasn’t horrible,” Beyelia said.
Then, she decided to short-term foster Journey. The dog, who had recently weened a litter of puppies, had escaped from the shelter. It took animal control officers seven months to capture Journey, Beyelia said. She believes Journey had several litters before she was rescued.
“Journey is always on alert, always perched on top of something, watching you,” she said, noting she renamed the dog, whose original name was Blondie.
The two dogs were obviously scared of their new world, Beyelia said, and at first, they wanted nothing to do with their new owner.
Journey (left) and Kaia are pictured. Lisa Beyelia volunteered to foster Kaia and Journey shortly after the seizure in March 2023.
“Their first experience with outside people was being ripped away from the only home they knew,” Beyelia said. “It was horrible, but it was the only one they knew.”
Although she won’t yet let Beyelia pet her.
“Journey is the one who will be right next me off-leash and would probably take down a bear for me,” Beyelia said.
The two dogs have also bonded to each other and never like to be apart. Beyelia likes to take the dogs through fast-food drive-throughs and take them on picnics.
“They all just want love and safety, just like we do,” she said. “Their needs are no different than ours, really.”
Beyelia said she is encouraging other families who adopted Carolina dogs to get their pets DNA tested through Embark Dog DNA Test. She said the website can help connect people who own dogs related to one another. For instance, Beyelia used Embark to connect with Karen and Mike after seeing their dogs had similar DNA results.
Meeko
The first time Bloomington resident Eliza Williams saw Meeko, it was through a fence at the city’s animal shelter. Williams had come to the shelter looking to adopt another animal, preferably a puppy, to keep her dog, Willa, company.
A few weeks earlier, someone forwarded her an article about the city seizing 68 dogs, mostly Carolina dogs, from an unauthorized breeding operation. She didn’t think a whole lot of the story — the dogs from the seizure likely wouldn’t be the best fit for her house.
However, the first time she saw Meeko, a Carolina dog with light beige fur, she threw these assumptions out the window. Meeko had approached the shelter’s fence to investigate Williams, which a shelter representative said the dog had never done before.
“She was like ‘this is a huge deal,’ which, you know, maybe they said that to everybody,” Williams said. “I know this sounds so cheesy, but (we) had this instant connection and I immediately texted my fiancé and was like ‘Oh my god, I found the dog.'”
Williams didn’t get to pet or cuddle with Meeko before she took him home from the shelter — like many dogs from the seizure, he was wary of strangers.
“It was more just we kind of just sat there and looked at each other and studied each other,” Williams said. “I just was quiet and let him know he could trust me.”
Williams said adopting Meeko has been a “massive responsibility” and she and her fiancé had to adopt new lifestyle changes, such as limiting their travel.
“It all kind of went on the back burner when we met him and realized what an opportunity we had to give him a new life,” she said.
Meeko is pictured. The first time Bloomington resident Eliza Williams saw Meeko, it was through a fence at the city’s animal shelter.
When Meeko first arrived at William’s home, he was terrified of a lot of things: strangers, leashes and even her fiancé. He spent his first weeks after adoption hiding in a kennel in the living room, despite William’s attempts to get him to come out. But slowly over the next year and a half, Meeko learned how to go on walks and hikes, wear a leash, play with Willa and explore the house. Even though he still struggles with going to the vet or meeting strangers, Williams said it is “night and day how far he’s come.”
“All of his firsts have been really special to us,” Williams said. “Which is basically everything he’s ever done, but it’s so cool to see him take the world in.”
One of her favorite memories of Meeko’s “firsts” is when he saw snow for the first time.
“He was so just weirded out by it and didn’t know what to think,” she said. “He didn’t want to put his paws down and then he started zooming all over the place and sticking his nose in it and rolling around. And it was like he was so excited by it.”
In her bedroom, Williams has a few dog beds on the floor for Meeko and Willa. Each night, Meeko starts by sleeping on the floor, keeping his distance. But while the rest of the house sleeps, he moves around the room and, most nights, Williams finds Meeko curled up right next to her in the morning.
