28 Puppies Found Stuffed Under Car Seat
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/8673125/detail. ... 32006&ts=H
Dogs Dehydrated, Hyperglycemic
POSTED: 12:29 pm PDT April 13, 2006
UPDATED: 3:49 pm PDT April 13, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- More than two dozen puppies, some of them sick, were seized from a motorist trying to smuggle them across the Otay Mesa border Tuesday.
Border Patrol alerted animal control officials after noticing the base of the vehicle's front seats had been taped to conceal the 28 puppies. Some of the dogs, which included 3- to 5-week-old Chihuahuas, boxers, cocker spaniels and poodle mixes, were very sick.
"Some of the 28 puppies needed immediate medical care and were taken to an emergency veterinary clinic," Department of Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson said. "They were hypoglycemic; they were dehydrated."
Animal control officers said it is common for puppies to be illegally taken across the border and sold in San Diego. They warned the public not to buy them.
"When people see them at swap meets and on the street corners and their heart goes out to them," Danielson said. "What the public doesn't understand is that purchasing them creates more demand."
The county says if the animals are determined healthy, they'll eventually be put up for adoption.
Carlos Lopez, of Los Angeles, was cited on 28 animal cruelty counts -- one for each puppy found beneath the vehicle's seats, NBC 7/39 reported. Lopez allegedly planned to sell the puppies at a swap meet.
