Man with a week to live hopes to rehome his 11 rescue dogs

Hope Schreiber
·Writer
Richard Ewers, given one week left to live, hopes to rehome the remaining 11 of his 27 rescue dogs. (Photo: Facebook)
Richard Ewers, given one week left to live, hopes to rehome the remaining 11 of his 27 rescue dogs. (Photo: Facebook)

A Texas man with only a week left to live is trying to find good homes for 11 of his 27 rescue dogs.

Richard Ewers, 71, found out he had cancer last year, as he was taking care of the 27 dumped or stray dogs he’d welcomed into his home in a span of two years. While 16 dogs have been rehomed, Ewers and the people who have stepped in to help him are hopeful the remaining 11 will find a home or a foster before they must be picked up by the county.

Local volunteers and donors have helped vaccinate, spay and neuter the dogs in order to get them ready for possible adoption, KSAT reports.

Ewers was placed in hospice care two weeks ago, and Mary Oyler and other volunteers with Save Our Strays San Antonio have been stopping by his south Bexar County home every day to ensure the dogs have food and water, and at least a little attention.

“It would add a lot more stress to what they are going through already,” Oyler told KSAT. “Not having Mr. Richard here, there's confusion, loneliness. There's depression.”

The dogs are able to go in and out of Ewers's home, thanks to an open window and his fence, but Oyler and other volunteers are concerned about them staying alone.

“There's no one to give them attention and love,” Oyler said. “There is no running water. There is no electricity. The conditions are just not ideal.”

She told the outlet that anyone who adopts one of the dogs will have to be patient, as the dogs have only known Ewers.

“We are very sad by this, of course, and we want to make that last wish come true for him,” Oyler said.

More information about fostering or adopting Ewers's dogs can be found on a Facebook page created by volunteers, Helping Mr. Richard and His Dogs. While the dogs have been neutered and spayed, they will need to visit with a vet to check their condition.

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