MCCRACKEN COUNTY, Ky. — The McCracken County Sheriff's Office seeks your help in a recent animal dumping case. Authorities say nine puppies and their adult parents were dumped Tuesday in an area of Kevil. The puppies, approximately 5 weeks old, were left in a laundry basket.
The sheriff's office said a resident found the animals dumped on his property, took them in for the night, and called McCracken County Animal Control the next day. Animal Control responded and contacted the sheriff's office to assist in the investigation.
On Thursday, the McCracken County Humane Society said animal dumping can set pets up for failure.
“We're not, you know, circling through the area, checking to make sure that no one's dumped anything…We want to help as many animals as we can. We don't want animals to freeze. We don't want animals to, you know, to pass away from heat stroke,” said Whitley Debary, with the McCracken County Humane Society.
She said receiving abandoned animals makes their job more difficult than when an owner brings them in.
“We know their whole life story, up until the point that they get here, which makes it that much easier to get them adopted out, to make sure that they get all the vaccinations that they need,” Debary said
Plus, it's illegal in the state of Kentucky. You can be charged with “cruelty to animals, depending on the circumstances. It's not likely, but depending on the circumstances, it could be torture, which would be a Class D felony. It really just depends on what happens to the animals, the manner in which they're left,” said Sheriff Ryan Norman.
That means you could face 1 to 5 years of imprisonment. So to avoid that, the Humane Society said there are other options.
“We do tell people that, for certain breeds, there is a plethora of rescues; you know, give them a call, shoot them an email,” Debary said.
The Humane Society said all 11 animals are in its custody, and they are stable and doing well.
They are also at capacity for dogs — they currently have 120 — but they can still accept cats.
