Ohio Man Accused of Zipping Six Puppies in a Suitcase

An Ohio man has been charged with abandoning animals after he allegedly left six 4-week-old, bulldog-mix puppies in a zipped suitcase, which he had apparently forgotten to take his name tag off.

A Toledo Area Humane Society officer filed two misdemeanor charges of abandoning animals against Howard Davis of Toledo, according to court documents. He has not been arrested.

Passersby found the pups on the street when they noticed the puppies' mother sniffing the suitcase, said John Dinon, the executive director of the Toledo Area Humane Society.

"Mom was not happy to be separated from her puppies," Dinon said.

Davis has a dog license that matches the description of the female dog, Dinon said. But he denied to investigators that he was involved in the abandonment.

"He said he had given or sold the dog to someone in Michigan and that the suitcase, with his name tag on it, had been stolen," Dinon said.

Davis could not be reached for comment.

The puppies were found unharmed, Dinon said.

"Fortunately, it looks like the people found them shortly after they were abandoned," Dinon said. "Which is good because if it had gone on for longer, they could have suffocated."

Dinon said the puppies are "happy-go-lucky dogs" that have no visual evidence of abuse.

"Mom is pretty friendly and she's very good with her pups," Dinon said. "She's very protective of them."

All six puppies and their mother have been placed in a foster home. The puppies have to wait to be neutered and spayed in a few weeks before they are eligible for adoption. The Humane Society has to wait for the case to make its way through court so it has legal clearance to put them up for adoption, Dinon said.

It is likely the puppies will be ready in about four weeks. But Dinon warns that there are only six puppies and they obviously can't go to every welcoming home.

"If you have room in your home and room in your life, there's lots of other dogs that need homes," Dinon said. "People should go to their local shelter and find a puppy who is going to be very happy to become their new best friend."

Davis is scheduled to appear in Toledo Municipal Court Tuesday.