Bin full of puppies left in Pittsburgh-area Walmart parking lot
LATROBE, Pa. (KDKA) -- An animal shelter is looking for answers after a bin full of puppies was left in the parking lot of a Pittsburgh-area Walmart.
Action For Animals Humane Society posted a photo on social media of how the puppies were found, saying they were left in the Latrobe Walmart parking lot. The manager says Walmart checked closed circuit video but couldn't find video of the abandonment and now they're asking anyone with information to reach out.
"These poor pups wouldn't last long out in the heat thankfully they are safe at the shelter," the rescue wrote on Facebook.
With the addition of the eight puppies, the shelter says they're now at full capacity.
It's another story about an abandoned pet. Last week, a dog was left in a crate outside of White Oak Animal Safe Haven. So why does this seem to be happening more and more?
Action For Animals Humane Society manager LuAnn Hutcheson says there are two main reasons. First is the economy and the fact that animals are expensive and some just can't afford them anymore. The second: COVID. People were home more, adoptions went way up, and now those who adopted are being called back to work.
"I think people right now in these times are getting frustrated and they don't know what to do, they don't know where to turn to. The cost of veterinary care and food alone is getting astronomical in the pet world," Hutcheson said.
And it is for those same reasons that most shelters are at capacity. Costs of keeping a pet and COVID adoptions have many owners taking their pets to shelters in record numbers. Just to illustrate the incredible frequency of the shelter overcrowding problem, Hutcheson says the this shelter gets about six calls a day asking if it can take a dog, and about 45 calls a day asking to take a cat.
The puppies aren't available for adoption yet because they need to go through a medical process first. There are, however, several other pets who are looking for their forever homes at the shelter.
For those interested in helping, the shelter doesn't have a foster program, but they say they do need Purina puppy chow.
Action For Animals Humane Society is a nonprofit no-kill shelter on Route 217 just outside of Latrobe. According to its website, it rescues about 700 to 800 animals a year.
