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Two days after the Chattahoochee Humane Society held an open house, four dogs were illegally dumped in a small crate at the shelter’s gate. 

On Wednesday, a staff member found two adult dogs and two puppies in a homemade crate at 7:45 a.m. 

“She found them in front of the gate directly underneath the sign that says no dumping animals,” said CHS Director Amber Mingin. 

It is illegal to dump animals at the shelter without permission. The shelter accepts owner surrenders by appointment only due to being overcapacity. Someone dropped the dogs off between 5 p.m. on Tuesday and 7:45 a.m. the next morning. 

“They were terrified because the gate is right next to a very busy road,” Mingin said.

When an animal is dumped illegally, the shelter has to make room by placing the smallest dog in a portable kennel. If the staff is unable to find space, then they have to consider euthanization.

“That’s really rough because then four dogs in the shelter are in jeopardy of losing their lives because we have to make space for these ones that were dumped,” Mingin said. 

The dogs that were dumped were a small breed and were non-aggressive, so staff was able to make room for them by putting them together in a kennel that was recently vacated by an adoption.  

This is not the first time that dogs have been dumped illegally at the shelter or around the community. In June, three puppies who had parvovirus, a virus that can be life-threatening if not treated, were abandoned in a small crate at the Riverview boat ramp.

The shelter has begun to have to keep the doors locked because owners have dumped their pets in the office. Not long after Mingin was hired, a puppy that they later learned had parvovirus was dumped in the shelter’s front lobby while the staff was in the back. 

“That was really the start of our parvo outbreak in our facility, which put all of our animals at risk,” Mingin said. “And not only our animals, but our staff’s animals because they had handled and I had handled the puppy, and we all have puppies and dogs of our own at home.”

The dumping happened one day after the shelter received a donation sponsoring the adoption fees of seven puppies. Mingin said that the shelter has been lucky enough to gain support and resources from community members and rescue organizations through their enhanced social media presence. 

Since February, the humane society has been able to boast having zero euthanizations for making space. The director said situations like this are why it’s important to volunteer and spread the word in the community about responsible pet ownership and stronger spay/neuter laws.

“The people who care and the people who understand our supporters, and that follow us on Facebook and that hear our message, are not the people who would dump animals,” Mingin said.