Eight puppies dumped at roadside Theodore, AL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 County: Mobile Local Map: available Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
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Heather Parker's emotions ranged from sad to angry as she watched a county animal control officer take away eight puppies that Parker's fianc� found dumped alongside a dirt road Wednesday afternoon in the Theodore area. If the Labrador-mix puppies are not adopted, they will have to be killed, said Sarah Hopson, director of the Mobile County Animal Control shelter in Prichard. Parker, and the animal control officer who took the puppies away, estimated that the puppies were 5 to 6 weeks old. All but one appeared to be healthy, they said.
"I wish I could take them home," the 24-year-old Parker said as she watched the officer place the puppies in a small cage in the back of a truck used to transport strays to the shelter.
Parker said she had called the Mobile Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because her landlord will not allow dogs in his rental homes. The animal protection organization advised her to call the animal control shelter. Parker said she prefers dogs to cats. "Dogs are lovable, friendlier and more outgoing," she said. Parker said people ought to see how often dogs are dumped out in the country. "If they can't take care of a dog, they don't need it," she said.
The puppies were discovered alongside Leatherwood Drive off Plantation Road in south Mobile County. Parker said the dirt road has become a popular dumping ground for unwanted dogs and cats. Hopson, the animal shelter director, said more animals are dumped on rural roads in the Theodore and Tillman's Corner areas of south Mobile County than in any other part of the county. She said she has no idea why that's the case.
The shelter is overrun with cats and dogs this time of year because, like their counterparts in the wild, they tend to breed in the early spring, the director said. "We urge people to spay and neuter their cats and dogs because it keeps down the pet population, and less animals have to be euthanized each day," Hopson said. Some people bring unwanted kittens and puppies to the shelter, but others just throw them out, she said. "They do it too often," Hopson said of people who discard their pets. "Right now we've got three litters of puppies in the kennel here."
She said the eight puppies Parker called about will be treated for worms and given a nutritious formula and put up for adoption when they reach about eight weeks old. She said members of the local Animal Rescue Foundation and SPCA will assist in adopting them out. Hopson said her goal is to have animals adopted rather than killed. But only about 30 percent of the cats and dogs brought to the shelter are adopted, and those that aren't have to be killed to make room for more unwanted animals.
Abandoning cats and dogs is a crime, Hopson said. A person caught dumping them can be charged with cruelty to animals, she said. Elizabeth Flott, the Mobile SPCA's humane officer, said Wednesday that anyone dumping animals can be prosecuted for a Class A misdemeanor, punishable under Alabama law by up to a year in jail. If you have information on this case, please contact: Mobile SPCA 574-3647
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