More dogs abandoned, continuing county trend

CELINA - Over a dozen young dogs have been abandoned in and around Mercer County in recent weeks, continuing a concerning trend after 20 dogs were dumped in Celina over the course of a week in October.

The incidents may be linked to rogue puppy mill operators, said Mercer County Dog Warden Tom Powell.

Ten golden retrievers were dumped on Philothea Road sometime in the past week and a half, Powell told the newspaper. While he was able to capture seven of them, two escaped and one was struck by a car and killed.

Of the seven golden retrievers found, four have been adopted, one is in the process of being adopted and two were still available for adoption as of Friday night, according to a social media post by the Animal Protection League of Mercer County updated on Wednesday.

Four more golden retrievers and a doodle were found around the same time in Darke County, Powell said. A doodle is a mix between a poodle and another breed of dog.

The doodle's adoption was pending and the four golden retrievers were in foster care as of Friday, according to APLMC.

The abandoned dogs have had little to no socialization with people and don't know how to walk on a leash, meaning the 60-70 pound dogs have to be carried, Powell said.

On Oct. 23, 15 doodles were found 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.

The dogs were matted with hay, dirt and fecal matter. An official at K9to5 Doggy Daycare in St. Marys who helped groom the doodles at the time said she had never seen such a level of neglect.

In addition, Open Arms Pound and Rescue in a social media post on Dec. 20 said five black doodles had been dumped at the intersection of Tama and Wabash roads.

Most of the dogs that have been dumped in recent months have been doodles or golden retrievers. The dogs range in age from 9 months old to one and a half years old, Powell said.

Powell said the dogs are likely coming from one or more puppy mills in or outside Mercer County. The dogs might have been bred for sale and dumped because they were no longer puppies, he said.

"Someone is raising them for money and that's all they care about," he said. "I'm getting real tired of it."

He encouraged anyone with information about the dumped dogs 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.