Puppies rescued beside trash bin
By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)
Originally published 02:02 p.m., March 4, 2008
Updated 02:02 p.m., March 4, 2008
Photo by Bobbi Mlynar
Five abandoned puppies huddled in a warm box at the Emporia school district office. The sixth puppy, a chocolate-colored female, had been taken home earlier by district employee Carolyn Koch.
Alex Johnson thought he heard the mewling of a trapped cat when he drove into the USD 253 parking lot Monday morning. He followed the sound to a Dumpster at the Salvation Army Thrift Store adjacent to the lot and, instead of a cat, found a puppy — still with its eyes closed — whimpering in the cold.
The puppy was not alone; he had crawled away from five siblings that still lay in a burlap bag next to the Dumpster.
Photo by Bobbi Mlynar
Alex Johnson uses a tiny bottle to feed one of six abandoned puppies he found Monday morning when he arrived at the school district’s central office.
“I couldn’t have found them if one of them hadn’t crawled out of the sack,” said Johnson, who is a technology specialist with the school district.
The puppies likely were destined to starve or succumb to the cold if they were left outside.
“I couldn’t have that, and I didn’t want to just leave them out there,” he said.
Johnson brought the puppies inside, put them in a box lined with a blanket and brought in bottles of Similac to feed them.
Photo by Bobbi Mlynar
A days-old puppy sips Similac from a bottle held by Alex Johnson, who found the pup and its 5 siblings in a burlap bag thrown down by a Dumpster at the Salvation Army.
Four of the pups are males and two are females; four are black and two are chocolate, and all appear to be predominantly Labrador retriever.
One of them, a female, went home with Carolyn Koch, literary projects coordinator, and Johnson at mid-morning was looking for others willing to make the same commitment.
He enlisted help from the Dorsey Animal Clinic, which took responsibility for feeding the puppies and for finding foster or adoptive homes.
By afternoon, with help from volunteers from the H. Dale Buck Animal Welfare Fund, all of the abandoned dogs had been taken to private homes, where they will stay at least until they’re ready for adoption.
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Posted by stevenlk (anonymous) on March 4, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
thats cruel of someone to do that. thank goodness he found them. and yesterday was one of the coldest days threw out the week. wow, the things people do, they just raised them and gave them away.
Posted by AlexJohnston (anonymous) on March 4, 2008 at 4:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you for the wonderful article. I am proud to be a member of a community where the paper will print what other larger communities might view as an insignificant story. The two things that I hope people come away with after reading this article is that #1 There are people out there who will care for unwanted animals and its not hard to find them. Please seek them out, discarding helpless puppies and kittens should never be an option. If at all possible let the mother wean them and then take them to a shelter or an organization such as the H. Dale Buck Fund. #2 It is so important to heed the words of Bob Barker and “Please have your pets spayed and neutered” it is not very expensive to have done and it really does pay off in benefits not only to your pet, but also to you as a pet owner.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on March 4, 2008 at 6:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You can judge a person's character and worth, and how they treat fellow humans, by how they treat animals. I would love to get my hands on the worthless ignorant maggot who left those helpless puppies to die an agonizing death. I would give him a quick lesson on the definition of retribution. My thanks and admiration go to Mr. Johnson, Ms. Koch, Dr. Dorsey, and the others who gove of themselves to rescue those poor puppies. It does my heart good to know I live in a town with people who care.
Posted by mbb (anonymous) on March 4, 2008 at 8:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yay, Alex! I love seeing my friends in the news. What a kind heart!
Posted by emporia (anonymous) on March 4, 2008 at 8:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Shame on the worthless piece of trash that decided to throw living puppies away into the trash. Someday you will have to answer for this awful deed. God Bless all the people involved who saved the puppy. God is watching you and already knows YOUR character.
Posted by petlover (anonymous) on March 4, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If anyone has a dog that's already nursing, Call the Buck Fund 343-3377 tomorrow. These pups will have a better chance, they're really young.
Posted by Heartland_Rescuer (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 3:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
For interested readers... The Buck Fund now has all six puppies. It will cost them a minimum of $250 per puppy in veterinary expenses and formula between now and 7 weeks of age when they can be listed on www.buckfund.petfinder.com for adoption. Anyone interested in donating towards their care (or the cause of saving homeless pets) can call their main office at 620-343-3377 or mail donations to PO Box 1613,. Emporia KS 66801.
Posted by DeniseDDorcey (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 7:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a GREAT way to start the day reading such an uplifting story. God bless you Alex, Carolyn, Dr. Dorsey and The Buck Fund.
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 7:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i found a great way to warm up small animals that have gotten too cold, use a hairdryer set on low
Posted by create (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Alex Johnson, you are a good and decent man. What a beautiful image of strong hands supporting a helpless puppy. That's poetry.
Posted by AlexJohnston (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Channel 49 news is coming down to interview a few of us about the puppies. Hopefully we can use the opportunity to raise some money for the Buck fund to help care for the puppies and other animals in need. And at the same time spread awareness about the importance of having your pets spayed and neutered.
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 11:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
thats good, maybe it will also make others aware of how there are an influx of animals who need homes since the tyson layoff. the dale buck fund does alot for animals and any publicity they can get will help them support unwanted animals
Posted by Wallace (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I would like to say thank you to Mr. Johnson for saving the puppies! I would also like to thank the Buck Fund for bottle feeding these pups and giving them lots of love and attention. I truly hope that you will be able to find the mother dog. May God bless you all! I have faith that the money will come to help provide the care these pups will need.
Posted by gabby (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
slipandslide, How do you know there is an influx of animals since the layoffs from tyson?
I feel sad about these puppies, but, we don't know that they were left because of the Tyson lay offs.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Those puppies were not left to die due to the Tyson layoffs, but due to ignorant, abhorrent, barbaric human behavior. I am so hoping the low-life miscreant who committed this sickening act is located and punished to the maximum extent of the law. Someone out there must know something that would lead to finding this walking waste of oxygen: a neighbor, maybe? We need to find this person and dispense some serious old-fashioned political incorrect justice.
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gabby, i dont know there is an influx of animals, i just taking that from a gazette story heres the link. i didnt mean to say the puppies were left for that reason, but a news story would be a good chance to raise awareness if there are more animals needing to be adopted.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/chats/2008...
Posted by create (anonymous) on March 5, 2008 at 8:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Here's the video on the story that appeared on KTKA. Nice job, Alex.
http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/mar/05/pup...
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