An Akron police dash-cam video showed officers saving four frightened puppies from a cage strapped to the roof a van. The vehicle was traveling on Interstate 76 in Ohio at 70 mph on Friday when stopped by authorities.
According to NBC News, the police pulled over the van after receiving several 911 calls about the animals. The vehicle was driven by a Mennonite man, accompanied by his family. The puppies appeared wind-battered, but there were no signs of other injuries.
“I did ask him why the dogs were not riding in the car, and he said he had far more important things to put in the car, meaning his children, and there wasn’t room,” said Sgt. Kris Beitzel.
The family was traveling 300 miles from Ashland County, Ohio to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. They told the police that they did not want to keep the puppies, who were only 3-months-old, but didn’t want to put them down either.
The cage of the puppies was covered on three sides with a tarp. When the police first discovered them, the frightened animals were huddled together.
“I didn’t see any injuries. They would not leave each other,” Beitzel said. “They had urinated all over the inside of the cage. When I tried to get them out, they were trying to crawl back in.”
NBC News reported that police said the family were Mennonites, a Christian group, who viewed animals as property and that is why the family had put the puppies on the top of the van. They were told that it was against the law to transport animals on top of a vehicle and were issued a warning.
“He understood that. He said had he known, he would have agreed to never transport them,” said Beitzel.
The family handed over the puppies to the police. The young animals were taken to the Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital in Akron for a check-up. Afterward, they were transferred to the custody of an area animal shelter.
