CHICAGO — More than two dozen puppies were brought from the Ukraine as cargo on a Turkish Airlines flight. The 28 French bulldogs landed in Chicago and were picked up by a man who bought them and was going to sell them in Houston, The Humane Society of the United States told WLS.
Officials said on July 11 the man packed plastic crates of puppies tightly into a moving van that had no air conditioning to drive the dogs from Chicago to Houston.
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Texas State Troopers said they pulled him over July 12 in Texarkana and found the dogs in various stages of heat exhaustion. Animal rescue crews who were called to the scene said the van was 121 degrees where the dog crates were stacked. One puppy had already died in the van, WGN reported.
The dogs had no water or food.
Four other dogs died after troopers made the discovery. The Humane Society said they succumbed to various illness after the rescue, either caused by or made worse by the way they were found, WLS reported.
The puppies were taken back to Chicago, this time flown, where they were retrieved by the Chicago French Bulldog Rescue. They were taken to three animal hospitals, WGN reported. The dogs were placed in isolation and once they're given a clean bill of health, they will be put in foster homes until they're adopted.
The bulldog rescue group needs financial help to take care of the puppies who are, according the group, in "intensive rehabilitative veterinary treatment."
Once the dogs are healthy, the group will update followers on who can adopt them and how.