13 dead animals found in creek likely racoons, not puppies

FREMONT, Ohio -- A county Humane Society says 13 dead animals found in a creek in northwest Ohio most likely were raccoons and not puppies as first thought.

The Humane Society says they tested two of the suspected puppies by examining their teeth and determined they were raccoons. The other 11 were already buried, but the Humane Society says they are likely raccoons, too. They said on their Animal Cruelty Investigations Facebook page that the reason they looked like puppies was because the raccoons were skinned and moss had started to grow on them, looking like fur, CBS affiliate WTOL reports.

Animal cruelty investigator Adam Herrera earlier said he thought the dead animals found just outside of Fremont on Saturday likely were pit bull mixes from the same litter.

"Some of them are completely submerged under the water. Some of them are floating on top. And nature has been taking its course," he said. "It's difficult to tell if they were deceased or not before they hit the water, but I would probably venture a guess that they were."

The carcasses had been in the water for several days and were badly decomposed, WTOL reports.

The society says it still is trying to find out who dumped the dead animals in the creek.

A reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest in this case. If you have any information you are asked to call 567-201-0554.