Full disclosure before I start this story: When I see the suitcases come out in my household I get mightily bummed. It usually means that Maria is going on a business trip and ditching me for a few days or even weeks. Sure I have plenty of attention and love and food and walks from the other family members while she's gone, but I like having her around. I just wanted to let you know before I begin this that I am just not a fan of suitcases. I am biased.
With that out of the way, I can begin this short tale of boneheadism. So a suitcase was recently found on a street in Toledo, Ohio. An adult dog was pacing around it, and of course, attracting attention. When a curious passerby opened the suitcase, what should be inside? Doggy biscuits? Stinky fish? Nope. Puppies! Six English bulldog puppies.
They were OK, fortunately, but they were only four weeks old - too young to be taken from their mom. Of course, the dog pacing around the suitcase was the mom of the pups. I'm sure she was very happy to see the case opened and have access to the pups.
If you were going to abandon puppies in a suitcase (and I know none of my readers would do this, but let's be hypothetical), you'd probably take off the luggage tag with your name on it, right? Well this guy didn't. And the suitcase was found two blocks from his residence.
His excuse: He said he had given the pups to someone in Michigan, and his suitcase had been stolen before that. Do I sense a grasping at straws here?
I give him a little credit because at least the guy had licensed the mom dog. That's how they traced her to him immediately. But jeez.
Sadly the mom had to say good-bye to the pups forever. The three boys and three girls are now in foster care until they're old enough to be adopted out, and also until they're no longer needed as "evidence," according to the a Reuters article. There's already a long list of potential adopters.
This is what these pups should look like in just three or four weeks!
The man has been charged with animal abandonment, which is a second degree misdemeanor. It carries a maximum $750 fine and 90 days in jail. I doubt he'll get more than a slap on the paw. I can't find any story that says what happened to the mom dog. She was found blocks from her home, no leash, which isn't a great sign that she's well watched, but maybe somehow she had busted out of the house to get to the pups.
Of course, this could all have been prevented if the guy had just brought the pups to the local humane society. "Anyone who can't take care of any animal can come here and we will work with you," said Toldedo Area Humane Society executive director John Dinon. Let that be a lesson for any other boneheads out there. (Unfortunately they are not reading this story, because boneheads are generally not readers of Dogster.)
Images via Shutterstock: Four English bulldog puppies, older pup
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