LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control and sheriff’s officials are seeking information on an animal cruelty case involving puppies left to die in a dumpster.
Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson said the pups, German Shorthaired Pointer mixes, were discovered early Thursday morning on Hill Road West near Lakeport.
Davidson said a disposal company truck was emptying a dumpster in that area at around 6 a.m. when the driver discovered the litter of puppies.
The driver called the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Deputy Mauricio Barreto responded to the location, collecting the puppies and taking them to the shelter, according to Davidson.
Davidson said the cute pups, estimated to be around 3 months old, appeared sickly when they first arrived. The shelter tested them for canine parvovirus, with the tests coming back positive.
Canine parvovirus is an extremely contagious viral disease. Puppies are particularly susceptible, and have a high mortality rate once diagnosed, according to a fact sheet about the disease from the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals.
“We have decided to treat them here as best we can,” Davidson said.
Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport donated fluids and other supplies and Dr. Anthony Wong, who oversees the shelter’s veterinary clinic, is monitoring the puppies’ condition, Davidson said. Lake County Animal Services has agreed to foster the pups.
Davidson said the puppies’ health appears to be improving.
While the pups are being treated, Davidson said Deputy Barreto “has taken this case to heart and is pursuing the matter himself,” and is determined to find who dumped the puppies.
Anyone with information about the pups and who disposed of them in the dumpster is asked to call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s nonemergency line at 707-263-2690.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .