Trying to solve the mystery of what happened to a litter of adorable puppies, and why.

Good afternoon. 

Sara Rubin here, writing to ask: Do you know where your pets came from?

In most cases, the answer is yes—you located a breeder and perhaps had to get on a waiting list for a puppy, or like me, you dropped in one day to Animal Friends Rescue Project (or another animal adoption outfit), locked eyes with a kitten, and the rest is history.

Maybe you found yourself out running errands and saw a person with a litter of irresistibly cute puppies in the grocery store parking lot, available for a low price or even for free. There is a story about where they came from—in one recent case that generated a stir on a local Facebook group, the dubious story was that the human had found the puppies somewhere along Highway 198 between King City and Coalinga, and now was offering them up for adoption in Carmel Valley.

“Someone dumped them and I [called] SPCA but they are full and I was wondering if anyone want (sic) to give them a good home,” he wrote. 

Only problem: SPCA Monterey County was not in fact full. SPCA’s Beth Brookhouser did take a look at the post, and for her it instantly raised a bunch of red flags. 

First, if the litter had been discovered near Coalinga (or King City, the exact location remaining vague), Animal Control for the local area should have first been notified, to give an owner the opportunity to reconnect with a possibly lost animal. That should be everybody’s first step if you see a seemingly abandoned or lost animal: Report it to local authorities. If they cannot locate an owner, the animal will go to an agency such as SPCA that can provide care until they’re ready for rehousing. 

That leads me to red flag number two: From the photo posted, the puppies look to Brookhouser like they are too young to adopt. “It’s hard to say without looking at their teeth, but they look like 5, maybe 6 weeks,” she tells me. “There are lots of issues with rehoming puppies, number one being that puppies that small shouldn’t be away from their mom yet.” 

If no humans or corresponding mama dog are located, an organization that is equipped to care for animals would manage bottle feeding and lodge them with a vetted, trained foster family until they’re ready for adoption. Besides, it is against the law in California to rehome a puppy under 8 weeks old. 

The other red flag is medical records, or the lack thereof. Pets adopted out of places like AFRP or SPCA are all vaccinated and spayed/neutered—the latter has the advantage of preventing the cycle of an unwanted litter starting over yet again, and the former is for the pets’ benefit (and the humans who love them). Unvaccinated puppies are susceptible to potentially fatal illnesses, like parvo. 

It’s also illegal under California law to rehome an animal in a roadside arrangement, as this Facebook poster appears to have done. Specifically, it is against the law to “sell or give away as part of a commercial transaction a live animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk.” (Rescue or shelter groups are exempt from this.) 

I tried to figure out the real provenance of this adorable litter, but I couldn’t. I sent the seller a Facebook message and got no reply; one business number provided is a Virginia landscaping company, and another local number just rang indefinitely, with no voicemail set up. Neither SPCA nor AFRP heard about this litter, but both would have gladly taken in the puppies. They would have been adopted out (for a fee), after being vaccinated and spayed/neutered.  

Some prospective pet owners might prefer to find animals on the side of the road for free, skipping the adoption bureaucracy. But it’s not just a good idea for animal health and safety, it’s the law. 

-Sara Rubin, editor, sara@montereycountynow.com