A woman who was caught throwing seven puppies into a bin in Coachella, California, has been sentenced to one year behind bars.
Deboah Sue Culwell was handed a sentence of one year, which includes six years probation following her custodial sentence, and was reduced to 174 days with credit for time served, TMZ reports.
The 54-year-old was charged with seven felony counts of animal cruelty, as well as seven demeanor counts of abandoning dogs, all of which she pled guilty to.
Culwell was originally facing seven years in prison, so it’s likely she’ll pleased with the outcome of the case.
The animal abuser must also undergo random drug testing and complete mental health counselling.
She is also banned from owning or possessing any animals until her probation time is up.
Surveillance footage captured Culwell dumping a bag of puppies in a dumpster behind an auto parts store in Coachella at approximately on April 18.
In the video, which was shared by the Riverside County Animal Services, she can be seen getting back into her white Jeep and driving away, abandoning the newborns in the heat.
After spotting the bag Culwell ditched in the dumpster, a passerby named John alerted the store which then called the authorities.
The young dogs were collected by officers from the animal services, who deemed the puppies to be around three days old, and were terrier mixes. Sadly, one of the puppies died after failing to recover from the traumatic incident.
Sharing the devastating news on Facebook, Riverside County Animal Services wrote:
Unfortunately, we have learned one of the dumped puppies has died. The very kind foster volunteer contacted us last night and shared the bad news. She said she believes the runt of litter just could not make a comeback. She said the little one might have been on the bottom of the bag when the woman dumped the puppies into a trash bin and, possibly, just never recovered from that traumatic moment.
A volunteer from the animal services added:
The little one might have been on the bottom of the bag when the woman dumped the puppies into a trash bin. He was just so weak and held on for as long as he could.
When I got him he was pale and kind of flat looking, so I think he was the cushion that saved his siblings.
As the lady threw them in the bag, I think he was at the bottom and took the hit when all of his siblings landed on him.
At the time of her arrest, Culwell is said to have had another 38 dogs in her custody.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.