Three workers at a Bay Space animal shelter have been cited by police after seven puppies have been discovered lifeless throughout a routine pet transportation in August.
The three people, all employed by the city-affiliated Pets in Want animal shelter in Palo Alto, have been cited Tuesday, in line with a information launch from the town of Palo Alto, after the Santa Clara County District Lawyer’s Workplace filed misdemeanor fees of animal cruelty and neglect in opposition to every of the three shelter workers.
The misdemeanor citations observe a two-month investigation after the puppies, all from the identical litter and weighing about 9 kilos every, have been discovered unresponsive after being transported from a shelter the Central Valley.
The puppies have been amongst 27 canines in whole that have been picked up and positioned inside a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, which investigators discovered “lacked air-con within the rear cargo space.”
The temperature within the Central Valley, officers mentioned, was 90 to 100 levels. The people additionally uncared for to supply the canines and puppies any water, in line with the Palo Alto information launch.
The three people reportedly informed officers that on the journey they stopped for fuel in Los Banos, about 100 miles southeast of their vacation spot, and alleged that the animals didn’t seem “distressed” throughout a check-in.
However upon arrival, the seven puppies have been unresponsive and weren’t capable of be resuscitated by veterinary employees, the information launch mentioned.
The shelter issued an announcement on its web site, calling the deaths a “tragic incident.”
“Pets in Want will proceed to analyze this tragic occasion to study precisely what occurred and what adjustments in our practices and procedures could also be needed,” the group mentioned in its assertion.
Pets in Want was contracted by Palo Alto to function the town’s animal shelter in 2019.
