7 puppies found dead in shelter van; three employees charged, California police say

A trio of animal shelter employees have been charged with animal cruelty in California, after seven dead puppies were discovered in a van, according to the Palo Alto Police Department.

It is suspected the “pit bull/Labrador puppies” died when afternoon temperatures in the Central Valley reached 90 to 100-degrees, according to an Oct. 26 news release.

The incident happened Aug. 2, when the van was staffed by three employees of the Pets In Need Palo Alto Animal Shelter, officials said.

“The van lacked air conditioning in the rear cargo area, and the employees did not provide water to the animals during transport,” police said.

“The employees were gone for several hours on this transport trip and had picked up 27 dogs in total including seven puppies. The puppies were from the same litter, were about three to four months old, and weighed about nine pounds each. ... Upon arrival at the Palo Alto Animal Shelter, Pets In Need staff determined that the seven puppies were unresponsive.”

The 20 other dogs in the van survived, officials said.

Pets In Need has been under contract since 2019 to operate the city’s Palo Alto Animal Shelter, officials said. The three people charged in the incident “work for Pets In Need, not the City of Palo Alto,” police said.

An investigation determined the puppies died during a routine trip to pick up “animals that other shelters could either not accommodate or had been unsuccessful in adopting out,” officials said.

“Detectives presented the case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, who chose to file two misdemeanor charges (animal cruelty and neglect) against each of the three suspects,” officials said.

The three employees involved in the incident were “cited and released,” as is standard with “non-violent misdemeanor warrants,” officials said.

Pets In Need officials called the incident a “tragic event” and said they are conducting their own investigation to see “what, if any, changes in our practices and procedures may be called for,” according to a statement.

“For 50 years, the welfare and safety of the animals in our care has been our highest priority, and it guides everything we are doing to determine the complete set of facts,” Pets In Need officials said.

“Until that investigation is complete, we believe it is premature to comment on speculation about what might or might not have happened.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 3:01 PM with the headline "7 puppies found dead in shelter van; three employees charged, California police say."