SAN ANTONIO – Twenty puppies found abandoned in San Antonio during the holiday week have since been placed in safer surroundings, according to Animal Care Services.
ACS said the puppies, which ranged in age from a few weeks to a couple of months old, were either placed with foster families or other shelters.
>> ‘A heartbreaking trend’: Animal Care Services finds 20 abandoned puppies in 1 week
The puppies, which were part of three different litters, were found in various places throughout the city.
One puppy was found in a box behind a garbage dumpster, eight were left under a house, and eleven were abandoned at South Side Lions Park, according to a social post by ACS.
“That’s horrible. I wish there was some kind of way they could find out who did it,” said Cynthia Sheppard, who was out for her daily walk in the park Tuesday morning.
Javier Martinez said he also was surprised and saddened to hear that the park he visits regularly was used as a dog dumping ground.
“We hadn’t heard of puppies getting abandoned here. They’re typically older dogs,” he said. “I think (the people) should be completely prosecuted to the utmost of the law.”
ACS said pet dumping is not only dangerous for the animals but is also against the law. Anyone caught pet dumping could face a fine of up to $4,000.
“If you get to a position where you feel like it’s so bad that you need to abandon them, contact us. We want to help,” ACS Director Jonathan Gary said.
He said while the agency is used to accepting surrendered pets, seeing people leaving them out in the open is disturbing.
“Yes, we’re always at capacity. Yes, we’re always full. But we’d much rather take those animals in than see them dumped somewhere,” Gary said.
He said the agency is always in need of volunteers and families to foster animals.
For more information on volunteer opportunities with ACS, click here.
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