Puppies found with a missing foot and broken jaws in Oakland; authorities launch probe

On a cracked, narrow street in East Oakland, huddled among a mattress, broken furniture and buckets of used motor oil, lay two German shepherd puppies.

The female pups were dirty, malnourished and severely injured. One had a broken mouth, her lower jaw dangling; the other had a missing foot.

“It was horrific and cruel,” said Pali Boucher, founder of Rocket Dog Rescue, a nonprofit animal shelter that rescued the dogs.

On Tuesday, Oakland Animal Services said it had launched an investigation after a 4-month-old husky with a broken jaw and bloody paws was left abandoned at the same location, just a day after the German shepherd puppies were found.

“We’re working with Oakland PD to find out if these cases are related, because it involves the same ... location and the injuries of at least two of the dogs are the same,” said Rebecca Katz, executive director of Oakland Animal Services. “We don’t know if it’s animal cruelty or something else.”

Boucher said her shelter was notified about the three puppies over Memorial Day weekend and responded to the location to rescue them.

The first two pups were found Saturday night by homeless people near the intersection of G Street and 89th Avenue, an industrial area of the city. The third was reported on Sunday.

Boucher said that when she pulled the first two out of the rubble, she found them huddled together.

“The one with the cut-off foot was lying over her sister, protecting her,” she said.

She rushed the pups to Ocean Avenue Veterinary Hospital, where the dogs received medical treatment.

During her 20 years in animal rescue, Boucher has seen her share of animals that have been abused, neglected and just plain unlucky.

She rescued more than 100 dogs and cats from a home in Fresno where there was no running water. She helped save 13 dogs who were tied up for days in the backyard of a Central Valley home after their owner died. And she has tended stray dogs and cats that have been run over by cars.

But the gruesome discovery of the puppies this weekend left her unsettled.

“My stomach felt as if I had sharp razor blades inside,” she said.

On Facebook, she shared the story about the puppies with her followers:

“A million questions are running through my mind: Where did these beautiful puppies come from? What else might be going on? Was this an intentional act of abuse or just terrible neglect?”

Boucher said it could cost up to $12,000 to try to save the German shepherd with the broken jaw, but it’s unknown whether the puppy will survive.

“I just want her to have a chance,” she said. “A chance for a future.”

Katz said the third puppy is receiving treatment from the department’s emergency vet. So far, she said, there is little to go on in the case, but they hope the public can provide information that may help solve it.

To help in that fight, Pet Food Express has offered a $5,000 reward for information that may lead to an arrest.

Anyone with information about the puppies is asked to call (510) 535-5602. Tips can be made anonymously.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

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