[bc_video video_id=”6029244247001″ account_id=”5728959025001″ player_id=”Hkbio1usDM” embed=”in-page” padding_top=”56%” autoplay=”” min_width=”0px” max_width=”640px” width=”100%” height=”100%”]
A story out of Coachella has left people shocked around the country. This comes after 54 year-old Deborah Sue Culwell threw seven puppies into a dumpster, and was hoarding 38 others in her home. She was initially arrested by Animal Services and then taken into custody by police.
When NBC Palm Springs’ crew went to Coachella to speak to the family, they were barked at by at least one dog in the residence, and egged while recording outside of the property. Despite the hiccups, we were able to talk to some neighbors and get an update on the health of the 38 rescued dogs.
“Really sad. I can’t believe she threw away those puppies,” said Marsha Duffy, a neighbor of Deborah Culwell.
Neighbors are left shocked and in disbelief Deborah allegedly threw seven puppies in a dumpster and left them to die.
“I can’t believe people would actually do that with animals,” Marsha added.
When we asked nearby residents if they had ever seen an abundance of dogs by or in the residence, they all said no but that they did see Deborah walking one dog, from time to time.
“Nobody really knows anything behind closed doors, but she kept to herself so…“I’ve only seen her with one. A male pit. It’s just unbelievable. What was she doing? Was she breeding them?”
The 38 dogs that were found inside the home are currently at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, or CVAC, where they will hopefully be put up for adoption soon. Emily Vialpando, who works at CVAC, says although horrible circumstances brought these puppies to this facility, she knows that they will be very well taken care of here.
“All of them seem relatively healthy some have minor issues. Temperament is definitely fearful. When you have that many in a house it’s really hard to keep them all socialized,” added Emily.
Once, Deborah relinquishes all rights to her dogs, CVAC will be able to start the evaluation process to be able to place them up for adoption.