Puppies continuously abandoned along rural Montgomery road

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Sprott Drive, a rural road in Montgomery, has become a notorious location for abandoning innocent puppies over the last couple of years.

“It’s one of those long, empty roads with nothing on it. People feel they can come out here and just toss the dogs out to get rid of their problem,” said Montgomery Humane Society Officer Robert Bryant. “That doesn’t really make sense though, because they could just drive another 10 minutes to the shelter and turn them in for free where they’ll be taken care of.”

Dating back to the year 2018, volunteers say more than a dozen puppies have been carelessly left in the woods off of Sprott Drive. Last week, three more puppies were abandoned there. One puppy didn’t survive.

“When we responded we found one puppy already deceased. It had been hit by a car,” said Bryant. “Again, that’s one of the dangers of just throwing dogs out and hoping they will survive. Chances are they’re not. They’re going to get hit by a car. Two of the puppies we were able to catch and transport to the humane society.”

“We hate this road. We hate this place,” said Animal Rescue Volunteer Gina Gunnin.

Gunnin and her friends have helped rescue many puppies from the property. They once spent over 100 days capturing one of the puppies they named Lady.

“We came out here every day twice a day. Fed her, and we built basically an encampment out here to protect her,” Gunnin said.

“I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, just come out here and scoop her up real quick like any other pet,” said William Beatrous, Gunnin’s friend who helped capture Lady. “I think the problem, though, is when people dump dogs, especially young puppies. Their social skills are not that of a normal pet. That’s another problem with dumping the dogs. Trying to rescue them, rehabilitate them, and get them adopted is that much more of a challenge.”

On the 106th day Lady was finally captured and taken to the vet to seek medical care.

Gunnin said Lady is doing well now and in her personal care.

“She is doing good,” said Gunnin. “She is doing really, really good. She loves it at my house and she loves her friends and her family.”

Advocates said it’s important for people to realize that dogs cannot survive in the wild.

“When you drop them on the side of the road or in the woods, there is so many things out here that can harm them,” said Gunnin. “And they’re not trash.”

“They don’t learn from an early age how to scavenge, how to hunt, like a wild animal would, so when you take them out here and just throw them in the woods, they are lost,” said Bryant. “It’s just like taking a 7-year-old kid, putting them in the woods, and telling them to survive. It’s just not going to work.”

Rescuers said Lady, and all of the other innocent puppies that continue to be left off of Sprott Drive, should never have had to experience such torment. They urge people to find better solutions if they can no longer care for an animal(s).

“Turn the dogs in to us,” said Bryant. “At least if you bring them to the shelter they’ll get food, water, medical treatment and hopefully be put up for adoption.”

“Take them to the fire station, take them to hospital, take them to vets,” said Gunnin. “But really? The woods?”

According to the humane society, depending on the severity of the case, someone who abandons a dog could be charged with “allowing a dog to run at large” or “cruelty in the second degree.”

For more information on adoption, care, or to report animal cruelty you can visit the Montgomery Humane Society’s website.

You can also follow “Savannah Smiles” on Facebook, a public group run by Gina Gunnin that advocates for animals in the Montgomery area.

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