BEDFORD — The morning of May 28, someone tossed nine mixed-breed puppies over a bridge near Red Crane and Tunnelton roads and into Guthrie Creek.
Road construction workers found the soaked pups that were put into a gray plastic storage bin and delivered to the White River Animal Shelter in Bedford.
One pup that ran off was rescued later by one of the workers, who claimed the little dog and took it home.
Shelter employees bathed and examined the pups, dubbed “the bridge puppies,” then dosed the tiny dogs with deworming medication. They looked to be about six weeks old, too young to be weaned.
The dogs are two months old now and will be ready for adoption soon.
Animal shelter board member Sarah Turpen tries to refrain from making judgments, but the reality is that animal dumping in rural areas isn’t uncommon. “We have to remember we don’t know what circumstances led up to this. But it absolutely was not the right choice, what they did to these puppies.”
People who show up at the crowded shelter on Pumphouse Road to drop off unwanted litters are often surprised to learn the shelter is full and unable to accept the animals.
“It’s a hard balancing act and people don’t expect to hear the word ‘no.’ We’ve been at a point in the last three years where we had animals in crates stacked on top of each other and that’s not OK,” Turpen said.
She cited a pet overpopulation crisis where people are finding themselves stuck with animals they don’t want but are responsible for.
The solution, Turpen said, is preventing those litters from being conceived through spaying and neutering.
“People need to realize it’s a lot easier to spay or neuter your pet than to deal with a litter of puppies and kittens,” she said.
The operations can cost a few hundred dollars, but there are low-cost options and clinics around the state. A list can be found here.
Turpen said a recent grant from Smithville Charitable Foundation provides a $50 discount to Lawrence County residents who spay or neuter their pet.
To help add capacity, the 30-year-old shelter plans to build a new facility.
“We were so overwhelmed at one point that we were considering how we could keep our doors open,” she said. “Animal sheltering is a service to the community, but it’s not free for us to provide.”
The nonprofit shelter receives funding from grants, donations and payments from municipalities it serves, such as Lawrence County and the city of Bedford. A supporter has donated four acres for the new shelter, Turpen said, and about half of the $3 million needed to build it has been raised.
She’s hopeful. The new shelter will have a small on-site spay-neuter clinic. “We know the way to prevent unwanted litters is getting to the root of the problem.”
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FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.
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