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Litter of puppies abandoned at construction site on New Year's Eve

Posted at 11:00 PM, Jan 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-03 00:00:29-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Good Samaritan made a surprising discovery on New Year's Eve when it only hit 10 degrees outside after someone dumped a box at a construction site.

Inside was a litter of nine-week-old puppies now staying at "Chain of Hope."

The three boys and three girls are now busy chowing down and playing.

Hard to imagine someone would abandon them. But on Sunday afternoon they were left among the heavy machinery at 51st and Oak near UMKC.

With the bitter temperatures, the pint-sized canines would experience hypothermia and, inevitably death.

"They would have frozen to death. It would have been in a few hours," Tanner Lighthouse, a dog trainer at "Chain of Hope" said.

A construction worker at the site noticed a man dumping the box filled with puppies.

"This guy at least had some sense to do right by the puppies and leave them in a populated area you know we usually see them in dumpsters, we find dogs dead on their chain in the backyard, which I mean is sheer neglect," Lighthouse said.

The Good Samaritan called "Chain of Hope" for help.

Lighthouse told 41 Action News ever since the temperatures plunged, the number of outreach calls they field have doubled. 

He said in cases like this, there's a common excuse.

"Some people get backed into a corner financially and think that's their only option is to dump them and have them be somebody else's problem but there's always another option," Lighthouse said.

Since arriving on New Year's Day, the pups have been vaccinated. The next step is to have them spayed and neutered.

It'll be a few weeks before the puppies are available for adoption.

If you're interested in adopting the dogs, you must fill out an application.