Published: May 09, 2008 11:29 pm            

Dumped puppies find new homes

When Melissa Rodriguez heard the faint sound of puppies crying as she put her trash in the Dumpster Tuesday evening, she “freaked out.”

Rodriguez found seven puppies, less than a few hours old, in a Dumpster near her apartment on Shugart Road. The mixed breed puppies were in a taped-up box inside two garbage bags. Rodriguez believes the mother of the puppies gave birth inside the box.

Once she saw the dogs, Rodriguez said, “I was going to do everything in my power to make sure they were OK.”

Rodriguez and her family fed the puppies with a syringe. The next day, she took the puppies to a veterinarian, who showed the family how to take care of the dogs. The veterinarian said the dogs would survive.

Rodriguez put a classified ad in The Daily Citizen. Within two days, she had found homes for six of the dogs.

She and her husband, Steve, are keeping one of the dogs that they have named “Moose Tracks.”

It never crossed their mind to take the dogs to the animal shelter, Steve Rodriguez said.

“They would have to be euthanized,” Melissa Rodriguez said. “I could never do that.”

The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the person who put the dogs in the trash bin. Anyone with information is asked to call (706) 278-1233.

The Rodriguez’s said they want the person who dumped the dogs to be caught.

But they added their faith in people was restored by the response to their classified ad. They said they talked to a lot of good people while searching for homes for the dogs.

“They came into this life terribly,” Melissa Rodriguez said of the puppies. “I want them to have a good life.”

        

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