July 18th, 2010 By: Admin

Houston, Texas -- In the scorching summer heat, Deborah Hoffman can be found patrolling a section of Houston, Texas, that she's dubbed "The Corridor of Cruelty." The corridor is an area more than a mile wide where abused dogs are abandoned which is located in northeast Houston.

Hoffman, started the nonprofit Corridor Rescue, and for nearly two years, she and her team of volunteers have been rescuing dogs from this area and shedding light on the neglect of these animals.

In Texas, it is a criminal offense to abandon dogs, according to Assistant District Attorney Belinda Smith. As a result of Hoffman's efforts, Smith says her office has filed criminal cases against people who have dumped their dogs.

Hoffman has been involved in animal welfare for years and first came in contact with the corridor as a volunteer for a rescue group in 2006. Within a couple of months she rescued six dogs from the area. A return visit in August 2008 moved her to rally her community for help.

"[I] said ... 'We have an absolute atrocity going on day-in and day-out. And I'm calling this place The Corridor of Cruelty. There [are] animals scrounging around for food constantly. They're running in ditches with broken legs, broken bodies, pregnant. People, come out and help.' " Many heeded the call, and Hoffman and her "active army," as she calls it, started waging war on the corridor.

In addition to the district attorney's office, Hoffman's efforts have gotten the ear of city council members, mayoral candidates and the police department, which set up cameras in the corridor to try to capture people dumping animals.

Hoffman and her group have set up 18 feeding stations throughout the area. Volunteers fill the bowls of food and water at each station six days a week, laying out a total of 600 pounds of food a week. "We are keeping animals alive until we can get to some of them and bring them to safety," said Hoffman. Hoffman coordinates all of the rescues. Some dogs come up to the volunteers and want to jump in their vehicles; others are afraid, so Hoffman and two other designated volunteers trap them using snares and slip leads, among other means.

Once rescued, the dogs are taken to a vet to be treated before they are placed with a foster family or other rescue group. Hoffman often tries to place dogs before they are rescued. While in the field, volunteers photograph the dogs, and Hoffman e-mails the images to her group's vast network, which includes rescue groups for specific types of dogs.

Corridor Rescue covers the cost of food, a crate and vet bills for dogs that are fostered through them. Dogs that aren't immediately placed with a family or other rescue group go into boarding facilities until Corridor Rescue can find them a home.

"Volunteers and myself go visit these dogs on a weekly basis, so it gives them more social interaction," said Hoffman. "We bring treats, blankets, take them outside on walks and hug them a lot."

So far, the group has relocated more than 180 strays from the corridor.  For Hoffman, the war will never be won until animal abandonment is extinct. "Animal rescue is what I will do for the rest of my life," she said. "I'll be ... trying to save an animal from my rocking chair."