Owners of five abandoned Cane Corso puppies discovered across two Massachusetts towns have been located by local police as an active investigation continues.
Authorities in Oxford, Massachusetts, reported finding the eight-day-old dogs on Saturday, Nov. 7, scattered across multiple locations. Two animals turned up near Federal Hill Road in Oxford, two more near Clara Barton Road and Main Street in Oxford, and the final puppy near Buffum Dam Road in Charlton. Investigators determined the dogs all belonged to the same litter.
Police received a tip pointing to a residence on City Depot Road in Charlton as the source of the animals. Investigators established that the dogs went missing sometime between Thursday, Nov. 5, and Saturday, Nov. 7.
“They appeared to be a little bit malnourished, uncared for, so we started looking into that with our animal control,” Oxford Police Chief Jeromy Grniet told CBS News.
Officers contacted the owners, who agreed to surrender the animals. Animal control personnel in Auburn are currently housing and caring for the puppies while inquiries proceed.
“We definitely wanted to figure out who would do something like that, something so inhumane or insensitive, to take the puppies. We have other alternatives for them, if they couldn’t care for the puppies, we could’ve helped them,” Grniet said.
“We reached out to the homeowners and we’re under investigation right now with them trying to figure out what happened,” he added.
Authorities have not yet filed any criminal charges in connection with the abandonment. Police urged anyone possessing surveillance footage or relevant information to step forward.
“You got Ring cameras, just give us a call, let us know, we can try to put things together,” Grniet said. “We’re trying to figure out what happened. Obviously, these puppies didn’t appear there on their own.”
