What began as a grim discovery in a Queens, New York, dumpster has turned into a second-chance story for two puppies whose muzzles had been wired shut and were left to die.
Following emergency care and intensive rehabilitation, the puppies — Poppy and Petunia — are now well enough to be adopted.
Here's what to know
The New York Daily News said that after they were discovered, the New York Police Department took the puppies to an emergency veterinary clinic before transferring them to the Animal Recovery Center at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
David Little, who serves as the senior law enforcement liaison for the ASPCA, told the New York Daily News: "These victimized puppies were found in horrendous conditions, heartlessly abused and discarded with no chance of survival if not for the good Samaritan who intervened and reported this alleged cruelty to the police."
They had been found in extreme pain and were severely underweight. Scars and sutures remain on both dogs' jaws from the wires, but they have now healed enough to be considered adoptable. Because they are not viewed as a bonded pair, they can be adopted separately.
The ASPCA has since shared video of the puppies during their recovery, wearing plastic cones and chewing plush toys.
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New York City's response in this case follows an arrangement that has been in place since January of 2014. Under the partnership between the NYPD and ASPCA, police are the primary enforcers of animal-cruelty laws across the city, while the ASPCA provides forensic support, medical treatment, and shelter care for recovered animals, per Hoodline.
The scale of the problem is reflected in ASPCA data. In 2,783 New York City animal cruelty cases reviewed from 2013 to 2022, dogs accounted for 82% of victims, and neglect and abandonment were the most common forms of abuse, as reported by Hoodline.
More background
The abuse was clearly deliberate in this case, and it was not simply a matter of the puppies being left for dead. Their mouths had been intentionally restrained in a way that caused severe pain and likely would have kept them from surviving much longer.
In New York, that kind of conduct can result in felony charges under Agriculture and Markets Law Section 353-a, known as Buster's Law, which involves the intentional infliction of serious pain on a companion animal. Those found guilty can face up to two years in prison.
If someone is convicted in a case like this, that person would also be placed on New York City's Animal Abuse Registry for five years after conviction or release and barred from owning or possessing animals, per Hoodline.
City shelters and pet businesses are legally required to check that registry before approving adoptions or sales.
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