Distressing footage of a dog and her 11 puppies being abandoned by their owners outside an animal shelter in Florida just days before Christmas has been posted online.
Walton County Sheriff's Office shared CCTV footage of the incident to Facebook as part of an appeal to try and track down the man and woman featured in the video.
According to the post, the incident occurred just before noon this past Sunday, December 19, when surveillance cameras captured a man and woman pulling up to the Walton County Animal Shelter in a white Ford F-150 pickup truck.
The couple get out of the car along with a black dog. In the video, the man is shown rifling through assorted donations left at the front of the building before placing a box next to the door.
He then returns to his truck and closes the tailgate before he and the woman get into the vehicle and leave.
Walton County Sheriff's Office described the footage as "difficult to watch," especially at the moment when the dog realizes she has been abandoned by her owners.
According to the authorities, she spent an hour outside before staff at the shelter noticed her "peering through the windows" at them.
A subsequent investigation revealed that the small box left behind contained 11 puppies.
Walton County Animal Shelter is closed to the public on Sundays but luckily staff are always on-site to help care for the animals.
In this instance, they didn't hesitate to bring the dog and her puppies inside away from the cold.
Trigger warning. This video is hard to watch.Just before noon Sunday, a man and woman can be seen on surveillance video pulling up to the Walton County...
Walton County Sheriff's Office shared the video alongside a reminder that the dumping of animals is illegal and that the couple captured on CCTV "could face criminal charges."
"These dogs have clearly had a rough 24 hours," they said. "Abandoned just days before Christmas and left out in the cold. There is no indication of what kind of treatment these animals received before coming to the shelter. But, they are in good hands now."
The sheriff's office said that while the mom dog is understandably "wary of people" given her experience, the puppies "appear to be friendly."
All 12 dogs have since been taken in by Alaqua Animal Refuge. Anyone interested in adopting one of the canines can contact the shelter directly here.
Meanwhile, anyone with information that could help police identify the people in the video is urged to contact the sheriff's office on (850)-892-8111.
They also urged anyone unable to care to a dog to contact Animal Services rather than "dropping animals off on a day when the shelter is closed and leaving them for dead."
Newsweek has contacted Walton County Sheriff's Office and Alaqua Animal Refuge for comment.
There is some reason to be optimistic for the future of the dog and her puppies though. Earlier this month, Newsweek reported on an emaciated dog that was abandoned just days before Christmas last year has undergone a significant change in her physical and mental health after being rehomed.
Elsewhere, a badly treated dog who had to have both his eyes removed is now celebrating life again in a new forever home.
