RUSHVILLE, Ind. — Rushville police launched an investigation to try and find who may have dumped 24 dogs at two different locations in rural Indiana over the weekend.
In a message posted to Facebook on Sunday shortly before 8 p.m. by the Rushville Animal Shelter, shelter workers pleaded with the public to help find who may have abandoned the dogs by checking security cameras.
"24 dogs is ALOT of dogs to leave one location overnight and go unnoticed, if you know something, say something lives are depending on it!," the post reads.
Nine of the dogs were reportedly dumped by an unknown person at the Rushville dog park at 119 W. 16th St., and shelter workers believe that same person dumped an additional 15 dogs in a neighboring county.
Responding animal control officers reported the group of 9 dogs where huddled up together by the park water fountain.
Animal control workers have additional concerns the dogs are 'coydogs', a type of dog hybrid resulting from a mating between a male coyote and a female dog
"We believe the majority to be chow or collie mixes but to be sure, we have sent off DNA testing on the 4 dogs we can safely handle to hopefully give us a better idea on not only the breed but if we can match them up with other relatives," said a representative with the Rushville Animal Shelter.
Officials believe the majority of the so-called Park Pack are estimated between 1-2 years old and appear to be two separate litters.
"We are looking to place the fearful dogs with rescue in the near future but for the time being we need adoptions on our available animals to keep space available for the Park Pack. All our available animals can been viewed on Petfinder or our Facebook Page," a Rushville Animal Shelter spokesperson told 13News.
The Rushville Police Department shared the animal shelter's post on Facebook and reiterated they are investigating the incident.
The Rushville Animal Shelter and Rushville Police Department did not respond to 13News' request for comment as of publication.
Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the Rushville Animal Shelter or Rushville Police Department.