DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. — A dog and 11 puppies were abandoned outside a closed Florida shelter Sunday, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office.
The incident occurred just before noon outside the Walton County Animal Shelter.
Surveillance video caught a woman and a man pulling up to the animal shelter in a white F-150 pickup truck. The duo gets out of the vehicle along with a black dog and sifts through donations left at the front door of the building.
The man is seen placing a box next to the front door and returning to the back of the truck to close the tailgate.
The video shows the woman following the man and both leaving the site, and leaving the dog behind.
The sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that about an hour later staff saw the dog peering through the shelter window and discovered a movement in the box that was left by the door with 11 puppies inside.
"The sign on the front doors reads, "STOP, do not bring your animal inside. For assistance call, (850) 892-8758,'" the sheriff's office said in the post. "Thankfully, staff are always on hand to care for the animals."
The dog and the puppies were brought inside and given shelter.
"Dumping animals is ILLEGAL and these individuals could face criminal charges," the post said. "Reaching out does not mean dropping animals off on a day when the shelter is closed and leaving them for dead. It means picking up the phone and allowing Animal Services employees to provide a time for intake and to collect information about your animals. These dogs have clearly had a rough 24 hours. Abandoned just days before Christmas and left out in the cold."
The sheriff's office asks anyone who is able to give a home to these animals to contact the Alaqua Animal Refuge since they have offered to take the dogs in.
Anyone who can identify the individuals in the video is asked to contact the Walton County Sheriff's Office at 850-892-8111.
