Bonnie Sheehan

Although Hearts for Hounds' website boasts saving thousands of dogs, Roanoke Valley animal rescue leaders had little knowledge of the organization until news broke Tuesday after its founder was arrested in Tennessee on more than 100 counts of animal cruelty.

Bonnie Sheehan, 55, of Roanoke was the driver of a U-Haul pulling a minivan that police said contained, between the two vehicles, 127 dogs and one cat from California to Virginia. Police said the animals were surrounded by urine and feces and had no food or water.

Sheehan, the founder of Hearts for Hounds, which claimed on its website to be "a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit dog-rescue organization," and her passenger, Pamela King-McCracken, 59, are booked at the Fayette County, Tenn., jail with $100,000 bond each.

The organization boasts rescuing and placing more than 17,000 dogs into permanent homes, according to the site.

But Hearts for Hounds is unknown to rescue and shelter circles in the Roanoke Valley.

Bill Watson, president of the Roanoke Valley SPCA, said he hadn't heard of them until reading news reports about Sheehan's arrest in Tennessee.

"I had never heard about them," Watson said.

Chaz Bousman, a volunteer at the Angels of Assisi in Roanoke, said she first heard of Hearts for Hounds in December when she accidentally found their website while helping a friend find a dog for adoption. She thought it was odd that the group was "based in Roanoke" yet had a California address.

She said she was surprised by the name of the rescue service because hounds include large dogs such as beagles but most they listed were small, including Chihuahuas, Maltese terriers and miniature pinschers.

"I'm very angry that they were calling themselves a rescue, and they thought this was the proper way to transport animals," she said.

The company listed 55 dogs for adoption on the website Petfinder this week.

It said on the website that its headquarters is in Long Beach, Calif., and that it recently opened operations in Virginia, where it planned to hold adoption events on Sundays.

The website said that most dogs came from shelters in the Long Beach area where they had stayed their term and had nowhere else to go.

"Because of our impeccable records, we are recognized by the State of California as an organization that benefits the community," the organization says on Petfinder. "Our mission is to rescue as many healthy dogs as possible from local shelters and give them a second chance in life."

Sheehan was a businesswoman in Botetourt County, running a coffee and antique shop in 2006. She moved back to Long Beach about three and a half years ago where she ran Hearts for Hounds dog rescue. According to the organization's website, they had relocated the rescue to Virginia.

"We are now in Virginia, where we have purchased a property to house our dogs," the site reads.

Sheehan bought a five-bedroom house at 1416 Campbell Ave. in February 2007, according to city real estate records, and it has recently been vacant, neighbors said. City records said Sheehan lived at 1356 Obispo Ave., Long Beach, Calif.

Hearts for Hounds listed the address on Campbell Avenue as early as 2006, according to nonprofit filings with the Internal Revenue Service. As of Wednesday, the organization disabled its website and Facebook page.