Quote Originally Posted by sumbirdy
I bet you didn't live with your mother who has seizures so the chaos of 17 dogs in the house would kill her. We have a small house but a big yard.

No there is no local shelter. We are not taking in any more dogs (even though we had to tell my sister-in-law that after she brought home Novie) Mom can't bear to let any of them go and the dogs LIKE TO BE OUTSIDE.
The fact that your mother has seizures and can't stand the chaos of the dogs in the house makes me only more adamant in my original statement ... if your house is "way too small" for the dogs you own AND your mother can't stand them in the house, you have too many dogs, IMO.

And while it is certainly good that you are not taking in any more dogs, I think there is still a serious problem with the situation as it exists. To be perfectly blunt, someone who has too many dogs for the size of their home, does not allow them in the house, cannot seem to keep them from chasing cars, and "can't bear to let any of them go" is not a rescue, they are well on their way to being a hoarder.

As someone who has been involved in various aspects of shelters, kennels, and rescues for decades, I would strongly urge you to responsibly rehome the vast majority of these dogs and do not take in more. This is not a healthy situation, for the dogs or humans involved. I'm not saying this to hurt your feelings or cause problems, but I seriously see signs of trouble here ... signs that I have sadly seen too many times before, and the ending is rarely if ever pleasant.