A 54-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of throwing newborn puppies into a dumpster in Coachella, NBC Los Angeles reported Monday.
Police say they identified the suspect from the license plate number on her Jeep, which was seen in surveillance video.
That video showed a woman shoving seven newborn puppies into a dumpster behind an auto-parts store last Thursday. The puppies were just three days old and the temperature that day was in the mid-90s.
The puppies were only in the dumpster for about an hour until a man rummaging through the trash spotted them and took them into the store, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.
Authorities have identified the suspect as Deborah Sue Culwell. She reportedly faces seven counts of felony animal abuse.
