FRANKFORT, Ky. — Detectives with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office are looking for the woman they said left a basket of puppies outside in the cold for hours. 

What You Need To Know

  • Litter of puppies abandoned at a Franklin County animal shelter

  • 5 of the nine puppies died because of the exteme temperatures

  • The surviving pups are in Ohio with a mother who is able to nurse the puppies

  • Franklin County Sheriff says people need to be educated about animal safety in cold weather

 

The office shared a surveillance video on Facebook that authorities said shows a woman walk onto the porch of the Betty J. Martin L.I.F.E. House For Animals in Frankfort Saturday night around 11 p.m. before leaving behind a basket with nine puppies.

"I think any minute later, these puppies would have been gone," said Betty Martin, the president of the non-profit rescue. "They still had their umbilical cords, so I feel certain that they were just born within 24 hours." 

It wasn’t until more than nine hours later that volunteers arrived to find the litter outside the door, Martin said.

"They were horrified and they thought that they were dead," she said. "There was so little movement with just a couple of them."

Saturday night, the temperature in Frankfort was just 27 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

"At the very least, you could have driven to the local police station, fire department," Martin said. "I think if you would have just went to Walmart and went inside and asked any other human."

The staff worked quickly to get the puppies warm baths and blankets and even found a rescue in Ohio with a dog able to nurse the puppies, but five of the nine did not survive, Martin said.

The sheriff’s office said it wants to educate the public on the dangers of animals in cold weather.

"If it’s not comfortable for you to be outside, it’s not comfortable for your animals," said Martin. "We would never have turned anyone away. We’re not set up to handle that kind of a situation, but we would have found something. We would have found a way." 

The sheriff’s office said anyone who may need to surrender an animal after hours should contact the office’s dispatch center.