Puppies left to die outside shelter gate
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But that wasn’t the case for Thomas Roach when he went in early Sunday morning to find a box sitting near the entrance gate of Warren County’s animal shelter.
“Someone left a box of puppies and they couldn’t get out and they died – all of them,” co-worker Beth Farmer said of 12 puppies left at the gate in a tightly closed box.
Farmer said it was obvious the puppies were trying to get out due to their positions in the box when they were found dead.
“That’s what makes it so bad. I know they sat there and struggled and they couldn’t get out,” she added.
Workers there said it is disheartening all of the mixed-breed puppies, somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks old, died before anyone could help. Additionally, even though they have seen it before, they were surprised at the size of the litter this time.
“They throw them over the gate. They tie them to the gate. We’re here on Saturday. All they would have had to do was call, or better yet, take them home and wait until Monday,” Farmer said of the 12 puppies.
The shelter has an open-door, no-questions-asked policy and is open six of seven days a week. Farmer maintains there was no reason to let the animals die in the summer heat.
“We try to save them. We work hard to try to make sure they’re not out starving and not hit by cars,” she said. “It is demoralizing when you come in and find something like that. They just didn’t care or have the heart to do the right thing.”
Shelter employees said they are willing to prosecute if any information becomes available as to who is responsible for the puppies’ deaths. The box was left sometime between closing time at 2 p.m. Saturday and Roach’s scheduled feeding time at 6:45 a.m. Sunday. The box has a partial address on it.
The shelter’s hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is 473-5720.