All photos were provided by the Ozark County Times.
Ozark County, MO. – On July 9, 2024, Ronald Schrine was arrested after he wrapped 7 puppies in a plastic trash bag before throwing them in the Gainesville City Dumpster.
According to a full detailed report given to the Ozark County Times, GFL Environmental employee Jason McDermott was emptying trash bins and was about to pull the lever to crush the trash, when he heard whimpering in his truck hopper. His truck hopper was mostly flooded due to the constant downpour. He saw the first two puppies, took them out, and dried them off before he realized that there were more still in the trash hopper. One of them was being choked by the bag handle and they were all drowning due to the rain building in the hopper. Six puppies were able to be pulled out of the hopper alive but the seventh puppy had drowned in the rain water. McDermott took all six living puppies to the City Hall to look for treatment for them. Vets and officials estimated the puppies to have been only a day or two old. Some still had attached umbilical cords and were covered in birthing fluid.
City Hall workers made a trip to the vet to get some advice on what to do with the surviving puppies. It was here that Gainseville resident Peggy Williams and her daughter Riley heard about the puppies. These two community members decided to foster the puppies until individuals would come forward and adopt them. The puppies are a pitbull mix breed.
Some of these puppies have already been adopted. An 11-year-old resident, Nyla, adopted a female puppy who she has named Bella. This family has two other dogs, that have taken greatly to having a new friend.
Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy and K9 Handler Josh Sherman has also adopted one of the female puppies. She is a little brown and black puppy named Lola. At the Sherman residence, Lola made friends with retired OCSD K9 Rye, current K9 Karo, and Sherman’s other pet dog, Ruger. “Rye has gone into mom mode and gives Lola her toys and cleans her, which is adorable,” Sherman told the Times. “Overall, she’s been an easy fit in the crew here.”
Peggy and Riley are continuing to take care of the remaining puppies, feeding them almost every 2 to 4 hours. The last four puppies were given preliminary names: Thumper, Thumper 2.0, Bubba, and Smokey. Peggy and Riley have stated that they may adopt Thumper 2.0. Then they also found a home for one of the remaining four, whose owner will pick it up after it is off the bottle.
For those interested in adopting one of the puppies or interested in donating supplies to Peggy and Riley, call them at 417-712-4112. They could use some puppy pads, puppy food, soft dog food, or any other dog supplies anyone would like to contribute.
