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In Tennessee, animal abandonment is a crime, and these recent incidences were not isolated cases, but seem to be a recurring problem in Trousdale County.

“This development indicates a cruel pattern that must be addressed,� said Dallman.

Hartsville-Trousdale County Animal Shelter Director Rebecca Troutt added, “Dumping an animal is considered a crime in Tennessee. When people do it, they can be prosecuted for animal abandonment and animal cruelty.�

She said the dogs may have been transported to Trousdale County because the animal shelter is a no-kill shelter and has other resources that they offer to pet owners.

“I’m pretty positive many of these dogs are coming from Lafayette,� said Troutt.

“Most of the posts that I’ve seen resembling these puppies are from Lafayette. Because we are able to provide resources in our county, a lot of people from surrounding counties who do not have the same resources are dumping animals here hoping that we can help them.�

According to Troutt, responsible pet owners can help to reduce the unwanted pet population, which often times leads to abandonment, simply by spaying or neutering an animal.

“These situations can be avoided if we just have our pets spayed or neutered,� said Troutt. “There are programs which help to pay for these services. However, people may not know about the spay and neuter programs. There is one here in Trousdale County — Fix Trousdale. And there is one in Lafayette — Macon County Spay Neuter (Assistance). They are programs that give people assistance in spaying or neutering their dogs.�

In addition to animal abandonment laws, the state also requires pet owners to keep their animals secured within the confines of their property.

“In the state of Tennessee, we have a leash law,� said Troutt. “It is required for all dogs to be kept on your property — whether you have one, two, or 1,000 acres. However, that doesn’t mean that they are required to stay on a leash. It just means you are required to maintain them on your property. “It doesn’t matter whether you live in the county or the city. There is a misconception that ‘My dog doesn’t have to stay on my property because we live in the county.’ In Lafayette, they separate city from county. In Hartsville, we do not. But we are talking about state law, so it pertains to everyone, whether you have a city dog or a county dog.�

Troutt encourages those who are unable to care for a litter of puppies to properly surrender them and never set them free to fend for themselves.

“Dogs are not predators,� said Troutt. “They are scavengers. They will not hunt or fend for themselves. They will seek human help at all times. If they are abandoned, they can get hit by a car. They can acquire diseases. They can get shot. And young puppies can even be eaten by predators. So, turning a dog free is not freeing them at all.

“If you have a litter of puppies that you are unable to take care of, the proper thing to do is to surrender them in places that take in owner surrenders.�

For more information on spaying or neutering a pet in Trousdale or Macon Counties, contact the Hartsville-Trousdale County Animal Shelter at 615-680-4022, Fix-Trousdale at 615-571-0472, or Macon County Spay-Neuter Assistance at 615-670-0448.