A DoorDash driver dropping off a delivery in Palm Coast, Florida, noticed something wasn’t right.
Through the half open door of a garage, she spotted a two level cage, and inside it, nine dogs panting in dangerous heat.
The driver immediately called it in, and a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy responded to the home on Rolland Lane just before 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 25.
What deputies found matched exactly what the driver had described. On the upper level of the cage, eight puppies, only about 4 weeks old, were piled on top of one another, sharing a single bowl with barely any water left.
Below them, their 2 year old mother, a nursing American Bully named Envy, sat next to a completely empty bowl. Outside, the temperature had climbed to roughly 97 degrees.
When the owner came outside, they told the deputy they had actually expected the DoorDash driver to call authorities, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The owner initially refused to let the deputy into the garage, claiming they couldn’t move the dogs until someone returned with a vehicle.
After the deputy repeatedly pressed the owner to give Envy water and fully open the garage, all nine dogs were ultimately surrendered to law enforcement.
“Eight puppies and their mother barked for help as they baked in a 97-degree garage,” said Sheriff Rick Staly.
“Thankfully, a DoorDash driver ‘saw something and said something,’ and now all nine dogs are safe, cool, and being cared for. If you can’t take care of your animals, surrender them.” He added, “Don’t lock your pets in conditions you wouldn’t want to live in yourself.”
The dogs’ owner was arrested on charges including animal cruelty, confining animals without sufficient food or water, and resisting without violence.
They were booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later released on a $1,500 bond.
Thanks to one driver who paid attention to what she saw, Envy and her eight puppies are now somewhere cool, safe, and finally getting the care they needed all along.
Have you ever spotted an animal in distress and stepped in to help?
Source:
people – “Nursing Dog and 8 Puppies Caged in 97-Degree Garage Rescued by a Concerned Delivery Person”
News4JAX The Local Station – “DoorDash driver reports nursing dog, 8 puppies left in 97-degree garage; Woman arrested: FCSO”