17 dogs dumped in Mercer

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP - More than a dozen golden retriever puppies and two adults were abandoned in Mercer County on Sunday night, continuing a worrisome trend of dumped dogs in and around Mercer County.

Including the most recent abandonment, more than 50 puppies and dogs have been dumped near Celina and the surrounding area since October, according to a Daily Standard estimate.

In total, 15 puppies and two adult female golden retrievers were captured on Schaadt Road west of Wabash Road by Monday afternoon, according to a social media post from Open Arms Pound Rescue. The pups' coats vary in color, suggesting they are from different litters.

The puppies ranged in age from 3-5 months old, according to the social media post. As with other dogs that have been dumped in the county, the pups seemed unsocialized and initially ran away when the county dog warden attempted to catch them.

The dogs were released to the Animal Protection League of Mercer County, which will handle their adoptions, according to the post.

A separate social media post from the Animal Protection League of Mercer County reads that the volunteer group has "more than enough homes" for the pups after they received an overwhelming number of adoption applications. Applications appeared to remain open for the two adult females as of Wednesday evening.

The county began seeing an increase in abandonments after 20 young dogs were dumped in Celina over the course of a week in October.

On Oct. 23, 15 doodles were found in the area of Burville Road about half a mile north of Frahm Pike. Five more abandoned doodles were picked up near the intersection of Tama and Wabash roads a few days later.

An Open Arms Pound Rescue social media post from Dec. 20 said five black doodles had been dumped at the intersection of Tama and Wabash roads.

In addition, 10 golden retrievers were dumped on Philothea Road in February. Seven were captured, two escaped and one was struck by a car and killed. Four more golden retrievers and a doodle were found around the same time in Darke County, Mercer County Dog Warden Tom Powell had said.

In February, Powell said he suspects the dogs are likely coming from one or more puppy mills in or outside of Mercer County based on the breed and age of the dumped dogs. The dogs have often ranged in age from 9 months old to one and a half years old, which Powell had said could indicate they had been bred for sale and dumped because they were no longer puppies.

The Animal Protection League noted there are costs associated with pulling the rescued dogs from the county pound and vetting them. For more information on the Animal Protection League and Open Arms Pound Rescue, visit their respective Facebook pages at Animal Protection League of Mercer County Ohio and Open Arms Pound Rescue, Mercer County OH.

Anyone with information about the dumped dogs are encouraged to contact the Mercer County Dog Control Services at 419-942-1550 and contact the Mercer County Sheriff's Office anonymous tip line at 567-890-8477 or submit a tip online at mercercountysheriffohio.gov/enforcement/report-criminal-activity.