Four more abandoned puppies now call the Rescue Ranch Sanctuary home. Dumped outside the gate in a sealed crate, they’re lucky to be alive. When will people learn? It’s not only illegal, it’s wrong to dump animals, even at the gates of a rescue or shelter.
Caught on video: abandoned puppies dumped and found
What the timestamp tells us is that the 11-week-old puppies spent nine hours shut in a crate, outside, on a summer day.
August 20, 2023, wasn’t one of our hottest days this year, but temperatures in the area did rise to 94 degrees in places. Thankfully, given its location, the puppies probably benefited from some light shade throughout the day. That being said, a thick, rubber flap afixed with wire covered the crate’s opening. Without the usual front grate, airflow was limited. Meanwhile, the four, small, closely packed bodies added to the ambient heat. The puppies had no water.
9:29 a.m. Rescue Ranch Executive Director John Golay, leaves the Sanctuary
There is no crate at the foot of the wood fence below the trees when John leaves.
9:32:53 -9:33:31 a.m. An ATV pulls up to the gate and dumps the puppies
Within 2 minutes, an ATV towing a small trailer comes down the road and parks behind the closed gate. The driver lifts the crate out, drags it into place, and leaves with an empty trailer. The whole process takes just over 30 seconds.
2:15 p.m. John returns but can’t see the crate from his vantage point
The problem for John is that on approach his view of the crate is blocked by the fence and trees. Then, once at the gate, he still can’t see it because the truck is too high. The puppies have now been there for five hours.
6:30 p.m. Karen Topping and daughter Meghan discover abandoned puppies
When Karen Topping, of Meghan’s House, and her daughter Meghan arrive at the Sanctuary that evening, the puppies have been in the crate for nine hours. Karen’s vehicle is lower than John’s truck so she spots the crate. Meghan get’s out to inspect it and discovers the puppies. Karen soon joins her. On her way out, Lacey Farber drives up on the other side of the gate. Since Karen’s vehicle is full, they carry the crate to Lacey’s car and drive back to the medical building.
All 4 Abandoned Puppies Safe and Doing Well
According to Operations Manager Laura Finley, the first thing the puppies did, when staff cut the wires and let them out, was relieve themselves. They’d been waiting all day, trying not to soil the crate. They must have been desperate. Despite their emaciated condition and bloated worm bellies, the puppies were able to drink on their own. Staff limited their intake to prevent a shock to their systems.
When I visited them on the following Friday and Monday, the the three girls and one boy were still skinny but full of energy, as my blurry images illustrate.
New staff member Erika O’Malley followed up with some great shots this morning.
Spay-neuter is the solution, not dumping
It’s quite possible that the ATV driver thought they were doing the right thing. But, as you can see, the puppies could easily have died right outside our gates. The solution isn’t to dump puppies or any animal. The solution is to prevent unnecessary suffering by spay-neutering our pets. There are many benefits to spay neutering: curbing overpopulation by preventing unwanted pregnancies and abandoned puppies, tops the list. Rescue Ranch provides spay-neuter assistance through it’s RRAAP program. Learn more here
