PLYMOUTH, Mich. – A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the person who left 19 puppies in a cardboard box in Hines Park.
A jogger discovered the puppies on Dec. 28 in a urine-soaked cardboard box in Hines Park, police said.
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The dogs were taken to foster care and will be available for adoption once they're old enough, but officials have yet to find the person responsible for abandoning them.
PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime.
"These helpless puppies were abandoned and left to starve or freeze to death in the winter cold," PETA vice president Colleen O'Brien said. "PETA urges anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately so that whoever dumped these dogs can be held accountable for putting 19 lives in danger."
Anyone with information is asked to call PETA's tip line at 757-213-8774.
From last month: Residents want answers
After 19 puppies were abandoned in a park, people in Plymouth want to know who did it and why they weren't taken to a shelter.
Julie Newman normally jogs with her two dogs and with her headphones on, but luckily not Wednesday morning.
"I'm jogging and I could see the box and then I could hear a little bit of yelping," Newman said. "So I peeked in it and there were all these little puppies."
It was 19 puppies about 4 weeks old from different litters crammed in a urine-soaked cardboard box about the size of a refrigerator.
Newman, who volunteers at the Humane Society of Huron Valley, immediately knew something was wrong.
"I immediately thought they were dumped," Newman said.
Newman called her sister and took the pups to the Humane Society.
"I don't know what makes people do that," Newman said. "I know times are hard and a pet can be costly, but there are so many resources that you don't have to do that."
Newman is just glad she was in the right spot at the right time.
"As tough as it was to see that and to get involved emotionally, I'd rather have that than not be there," Newman said.
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