19 Puppies Abandoned in a Box in Plymouth’s Hines Park

PLYMOUTH, MI — Julie Newman was jogging along Northville Road near Hines Park around 9:30 Wednesday morning when she heard a sound that stopped her in her tracks. She investigated, and spied a box under a tree near Wilcox Lake.

“I could hear little yelps,” Newman said in a news release from the Humane Society of Huron Valley. “And then I saw that box was moving.”

Crammed inside were 19 puppies, estimated to be about 4 weeks old. If Newman hadn’t heard the plaintive cries of the puppies, she would have gone on. The area where the puppies were found is difficult to see from the road, she said.

The top of the urine soaked cardboard box was open. Inside, the nine male and 10 female puppies were climbing over each other, trying to get out.

Newman called her sister, and together they rescued the tiny puppies and took them to the the Humane Society of Huron Valley, where they’re receiving medical attention.

“I’m just heartbroken,” said Newman, who has two rescue dogs of her own. “I just don’t understand how anyone could do this.”

The HSHV wants to know who is responsible. Anyone with information about the puppies is asked to call the HSHV’s Cruelty & Rescue line at (734) 661-3512 or submit a report at hshv.org/cruelty.

Based on the number and appearance of the pit bull terrier mixed breed puppies, odds are strong they are from more than one litter, said Tanya Hilgendorf, CEO and president of the HSHV.

Hilgendorf said she’s at a loss to explain why the puppies were dumped at a park.

“There is no good reason for such a careless act,” she said. “This is exactly why animal shelters exist — to provide safety and care to animals in need. We don’t ever want to see animals, especially babies, abandoned in the cold, left to fend for themselves.”

Fortunately for the puppies, Newman heard their cries.

“Thanks to a compassionate community member willing to take action, these innocent puppies will get the help they deserve,” Hilgendorf said. “When they’re ready, they’ll be adopted into loving homes — but first spayed or neutered to help ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Photo courtesy of Humane Society of Huron Valley