Abandoned Dog & Puppy in Watsonville

Camisa Composti

9 years ago

The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter (SCCAS) is asking for help in finding the

person or persons responsible for throwing sand bags containing a dog and her puppy out of a vehicle in unincorporated Watsonville. The adult dog is a sable, tan and white Miniature Pincher, approximately 6 years old, and the puppy was 4-6 weeks old.

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Officers responded to Minto Road in Watsonville on February 20, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. regarding a report of an abandoned dog and a puppy. The officers discovered the puppy was deceased, with the faithful mother standing next to the body. While the adult dog was afraid of the officers, she refused to leave the side of her puppy. Once the mother was placed into the animal control vehicle, she began crying and scratching at the door. She calmed down when the officers put the puppy’s body in with her.

During the investigation, and through a necropsy performed by SCCAS’s veterinarian, it was determined that both dogs had been placed inside sand bags and thrown from a vehicle. It appears the puppy died of trauma to the head upon impact. The mother

appears to have chewed herself free from inside the sand bags, and pulled the puppy out. According to the veterinarian’s necropsy report, “in an attempt to revive the puppy, the mother accidentally bit the puppy’s tongue off.”

“What makes this case so disturbing is that a person would decide that putting dogs in sand bags and throwing them out of a window like garbage was even an option,” states Todd Stosuy Field Services Manager for the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. “There are always alternative options if you have an animal you can no longer keep, including surrendering them at no cost to Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.”

The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is an open door admission shelter which accepts all domestic animals, 365 days a year. SCCAS has two locations, 2200 7^th Avenue in Santa Cruz and 580 Airport Boulevard in Watsonville. The phone number is 831-454-7303 and website is www.scanimalshelter.org.