Children who heard whimpers coming from a Dumpster on Upper Bryant Landing Road in Stockton are credited with saving the lives of a mother dog and her six offspring.

Kathy Eddy, executive director of the Baldwin County Animal Rescue Center (BARC), said the miniature pinscher-chihuahua mix puppies are about two weeks old. They were found Dec. 27 inside an open wooden box with handles that had been placed in the trash receptacle, she said.

“Pets are not garbage,” Eddy said. “This is not the right way to deal with unwanted puppies. I’m saddened to think that someone couldn’t make time to take the mother and pups to an animal shelter where they would have been treated humanely. Leaving them to die in a garbage Dumpster certainly is not the right way to treat pets.”

Baldwin County Animal Control Officer Walter Shipp, who was in the area at the time, rescued the dogs from the dumpster. They were taken to the county shelter in Summerdale before being released to BARC. The nonprofit agency has placed them in foster care for now.

State law prohibits such cruelty to animals, according to Tracy Holiday, BARC president. She stated, “Under the Gucci Act, a six-month sentence can be imposed for each of the seven abandoned dogs if the responsible party is found.”

Shipp said there was no evidence at the scene linking anyone to the abandonment. If someone has information about the incident, they should call the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department at 937-0202.

Eddy said it appears the animals hadn’t been in the Dumpster very long, adding, “Fortunately the weather was mellow. They seem to be OK.”

She noted, however, that the situation could have been much worse for the puppies and their mother.

“If you can imagine them suffering through a cold night — the mom not being able to feed them, or the truck coming to empty the Dumpster and crushing them,” Eddy said. “It’s not the way to take care of unwanted pets.”

Eddy talked with an animal control official in Bay Minette, and was told they would have taken in the dogs to prevent what happened, even though Stockton is not in their jurisdiction. She said whoever dumped the animals “was someone who didn’t care or didn’t know what to do.”

Just as Bay Minette offered an option, Eddy said, other shelters are also willing to help. Another way to prevent such cases in the future is for pet owners to spay or neuter their animals.

More than 10,000 dogs and cats were taken in by animal control officials throughout Baldwin County in 2006, Eddy said. More than half were euthanized.

“If the mother and father had been spayed or neutered, this wouldn’t have happened,” Eddy said.

She continued, saying, “The sad thing is, these are the ones we know about. There are some who are just put out in the woods. They grow up and reproduce, and you end up with feral dogs and cats. Those responsible then not only endanger the animals, but also the general public.”

According to BARC, spaying a female pet or neutering a male pet can reduce the diseases the pet may get.

Spaying a female reduces the risk of mastitis (inflammation of the breast), ovarian cysts, breast cancer, various uterine diseases and problems associated with pregnancy. Altering a male reduces the urge to roam, reduces his urge to mount and stops a cat from spraying to mark his territory.

It is not true that an animal should be allowed to have a litter before being spayed. In fact, it is better for her health to spay her before she goes into her first heat. Most male and female animals can be fixed before they are 6 months old.

BARC offers several low cost spay and neuter programs for county residents. The organization provided 2,095 vouchers in 2007.

The puppies found in the Dumpster will be available for adoption into good homes as early as Feb. 1. Eddy said, “They will go out spayed or neutered, and with all their checkups so someone will know they’ve adopted a healthy pet.”

BARC placed nearly 2,000 animals for adoption in 2007, but Eddy pointed out, “We cannot adopt our way out of the pet overpopulation in Baldwin County.”

Animal shelters located in Baldwin County:

• Baldwin County Animal Shelter , 972-6834

• Bay Minette Animal Shelter/Control, 937-7540

• Daphne Animal Shelter, 621-2831

• Fairhope Animal Shelter, 929-0354

Animal control phone numbers:

• Foley Animal Control, 943-4431

• Robertsdale Animal Control, 947-2222

• Silverhill Police Animal Control, 945-5200

• Loxley Animal Control, 964-5162

• Elberta Police/Animal Control, 986-5995

• Orange Beach Animal Control, 981-6166

• Gulf Shores Animal Control, 968-2431

• Baldwin County Sheriff — North Baldwin, 937-0202

• Baldwin Co. Sheriff — Eastern Shore, 990-4666

• Baldwin Co. Sheriff — South Baldwin, 972-6802