Tuesday, February 20th 2018, 9:37 pm
Families are breathing a sigh of relief Tuesday night after a judge signed off on releasing 36 of the more than 100 animals found inside a dog trainer's Skiatook home.
They've been waiting since Thursday to bring their dogs back home after deputies say they found animals stacked in plastic crates, covered in filth and feces.
The Humane Society says today was a major victory, but their work is far from over.
"It's really emotional," said Gina Gardner from the Humane Society of Tulsa. "I've already broke down crying and I think it's because I'm so tired."
The Humane Society has been working around the clock to match more than 100 animals with their owners since deputies say they found cage on top of cage on top of cage covered in feces at Marj Satterfield's home.
Arika Ramos, whose dog, Elsa, has been at Satterfield's home for over a week, said "I didn't believe it. Because we've known Marj for two years. This is honestly an unbelievable situation."
2/19/2018 Related Story: Tulsa Humane Society Works To Match Dogs With Owners
Logan Brown's dog, Remington, has been in Satterfield's care since December.
"We got Remington as a funeral home therapy dog and so it's one of the first ones in Oklahoma," said Brown.
Now, he'll need further training before he can comfort grieving families.
Ashley Whitfield's dog, Daisy, spent three weeks with Satterfield for leash training.
Whitfield says, "well, we'll definitely need a trainer, obviously still."
"We're just ready to have her back and be done with this," said Ramos. "Even though we have court to deal with now."
The Humane Society says the 36 dogs released Tuesday were microchipped, had identification, and the owners had proof of ownership so they were easier to match.
As for the 60 dogs still at the Humane Society, it'll be a long process.
Gardner says "we have multiple parties, multiple people who are interested in them. And you know, it's not the job of the Humane Society to decide ownership."
Several of the dogs still there belong to Satterfield.
Some of the dog owners have said that Satterfield has texted them that training is back on.
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