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2 Puppies Survive, But Mother Dog & 3rd Puppy Die After Being Left In Dumpster

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Humane officers are looking for the person who left a mother dog and three puppies in a construction dumpster on the North Side.

A woman taking out her trash discovered the animals on Dec. 30 at Retail Way and Tripoli Street. Two puppies survived.

She kept the dogs for a few days, and then finally took them to the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society on Western Avenue.

The dogs, which are a pit bull-mix, are now ready for adoption.

Public Relations Director Kristen Lane told KDKA's Kym Gable they are about 9-weeks-old.

"[The woman] took the puppies out of the dumpster, kept them for a few days… and she brought them here," said Lane. "We checked them over, gave them a full medical exam. They are happy, healthy and ready to be adopted. They're looking for a wonderful home."

The staff named the puppies Melinda and Maisy.

The woman who found them told the Humane Society that the trash containing the bodies of the mother dog and the other puppy had already been hauled away.

Lane said that evidence may have aided in the investigation.

Lane says anyone with information on how the dogs got in the dumpster should call the Western Pa. Humane Society Investigations Unit at 412-321-4625 ext. 216. All callers may remain anonymous.

Anyone interested in adopting the puppies should visit the shelter at 1101 Western Avenue on Pittsburgh's North Side. Visit their website at: wpahumane.org.

UPDATE (Jan. 7, 2015)--

Both puppies have now found homes. One was adopted on Tuesday night and the paperwork for the other is expected to be finished by Thursday.

"In the last 24 hours, we have besieged by big-hearted people who want to adopt these little puppies who had such a tough beginning," said Lane. "It's always a difficult situation for us to be in because we wish we had a thousand puppies to give to everybody, but we have a limited number, and so we have an adoption screening process we do to make sure the potential adopters have an appropriate home and have an appropriate lifestyle, the basics for raising a puppy."

The investigation into how they ended up in the dumpster continues.

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