Owner leaves 6 puppies in suitcase by dumpster

UNDATED (WHDH) -- Six puppies were packed up in a suitcase and left at the side of a dumpster last week.

Police say they have found the man who left the dogs and their mother in danger, but they want to know why he did it.

The Humane Society says the six English Bulldog puppies and their mother were left by their owner at the side of a dumpster outside a North Toledo convenience store. The puppies were zipped up in a suitcase.

A man known in the neighborhood as “Highway” says he saw the owner leave the puppies and then take off in his car.

“When he left I seen this female dog chasing him, and she gave up and came back. She came back to the dumpster. So I got curious and went by the dumpster. There was a suitcase. I was afraid to open it but I did anyways. Only unzipped about four inches. Opened it up and there were six puppies in the son of a gun. Five puppies and one was under a blanket,” said Scott Snyder, a witness.

The puppies were taken from the scene by the dog warden and are now in the care of The Humane Society.

“Everybody’s doing great. The puppies had a bath this morning and the mom’s doing a great job taking care of him and everybody’s healthy and doing very well,” said John Dinon, Executive Director of the Toledo area Humane Society.

The Humane Society has filed abandonemnt charges against the dogs’ owner who is due at an animal custody hearing on Friday. He will be arraigned next week.

The Humane Society is looking for a temporary home for the canine family of seven.

“If anyone is interested in fostering them you can give a call to the Humane Society and we need somebody to keep them in their home probably for about four weeks until the pups are old enough to be spayed and neutered and put up for adoption. So they would have to take mom and the six puppies,” Dinon said.

Police say the only reason they caught up with the man who dumped the dogs was because he failed to remove luggage tags featuring his phone number and address from the suitcase.

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