Neglected husky puppies tossed over shelter’s fence, group says. Now they have a home
_fitted.png "Two husky puppies, Reign and Ryder, were tossed over a fence at a Michigan animal shelter.")
Nearly two weeks after two neglected husky puppies were tossed over a Michigan animal shelter’s fence, the pair has found a new home, officials say.
The puppies, which have been named Reign and Ryder, arrived at the Jackson County Animal Shelter — in Jackson — on Sept. 26, under circumstances that outraged many in the community.
In surveillance video shared by the shelter, a truck can be seen driving up to a fence at the facility. A person gets out holding two puppies, walks up to the fence, lifts the dogs over and drops them onto the other side, then gets back in the truck and leaves, video shows.
Reign and Ryder were both “severely emaciated” and suffering from neglect, according to the shelter.
With help from the community, authorities quickly found the person seen dropping them over the fence, the shelter said.
“The owners were located and identified and did admit that these were their puppies that they abandoned at the shelter,” Lydia Sattler, the Jackson County Animal Shelter Director, told WILX. “I can also tell you that there were eight puppies … as a result of the litter that this family had, and these are just two of them.”
The huskies were about 6 months old, weighing 8 and 11 pounds, officials told the outlet. At that age, they should be between 25-30 pounds, the station reported.
As Reign and Ryder recovered, the pups gained weight and grew “more active and playful everyday,” the shelter said.
On Oct. 6, the shelter announced that they would be moving into a new home and were being adopted together.
“From suffering from neglect, malnutrition and parasites then being thrown over a fence…these 2 survivors are now ready to live their best life in a loving home!” officials said in a post.
No charges were brought against the owners of the puppies, USA Today reported.
Sattler told the outlet that if things had been done properly, there wouldn’t be any reason for authorities to get involved.
“If they would have just come to the door, we would have just taken the puppies in,” she said. “We also have a gate that always remains unlocked; that would have been better than throwing the puppies over the fence.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2023 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Neglected husky puppies tossed over shelter’s fence, group says. Now they have a home."