California woman charged with dumping puppies in trash

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A California woman could face up to seven years behind bars on a slew of charges filed Tuesday after authorities say surveillance video showed her casually tossing a bag of 3-day-old puppies into a trash can on a sweltering day.

Deborah Sue Culwell, 54, was charged with seven felony counts of injuring the palm-sized puppies and seven misdemeanor counts of abandoning them.


The puppies' mother may have been among 38 dogs found inside Culwell's home following her arrest, and authorities were determining whether a reunion would be possible, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

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The five male and two female puppies, believed to be terrier mixes, survived after spending about an hour inside a plastic bag in the dumpster, which was open. A man heard them crying and took the puppies to a nearby store, where an employee called authorities.

"If not for the good Samaritan's actions, the puppies may not have survived much longer," the animal services agency said in a news release, adding that temperatures in the area had reached the mid-90s on Thursday.

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