A dozen dogs dumped in rural Marshall County

PLYMOUTH, Ind. -- A dozen dogs were left to fend for themselves in rural Marshall County.  The county prosecutor's office is stepping up to help the Marshall County Humane Society find the person responsible. 

ABC57 joined Nancy Cox, the director of the Humane Society, in checking the traps to see if any more dogs have been found.

As of air time, twelve dogs had been rescued.

It's been a long week for Cox. 

"Trying to catch the little dogs that were dumped out here at Dixon Lake," she says. "Somebody called us, they saw a little dog run through yard. So I brought a trap with me."

It started with just one.

Then another six. 

And the number of these dogs found in the Dixon Lake area kept growing. 

Cox says after more than thirty years of doing this, this troubled tale got to her.

"I sat down and cried. I really did," she explains. "To dump a helpless little dog and then dump dozens."

All of the dogs rescued were in horrible condition.

And all of them, Cox believes, is from the same breeder. 

"Skin and bones. Skin and bones and loaded with parasites and fleas," she describes. "[Maybe] they couldn't afford to feed them. Or maybe they needed a new bloodline, and just dumped the older ones and kept the puppies."

She says the person responsible should be caught. 

"A person who would do that could do other cruel hard things. That's why there's a criminal code for abandonment or neglect for vertebrae animals," says Nelson Chipman, the Marshall County Prosecutor. 

He says the person could face jail time. 

"It's a Class A misdemeanor. Up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine," he adds. 

That could be per dog. 

But until someone speaks up and helps them out, these dogs are left without justice.

"It's a callous thing to do," says Chipman. "There are other resources available."

"If you cannot feed or house or care for your pet, call the Humane Society first," adds Cox. "Let us try and help you."