Community comes together to rescue, care for puppies left to die in dumpster

It was around 7:30 a.m. July 9, when GFL Environmental employee Jason McDermott was emptying trash carts in Gainesville that he came across something that stopped him dead in his tracks.   

Seven newborn puppies, wrapped in a soiled birthing blanket, had been tied inside a grocery sack and left to die in a trash cart. 

McDermott, who was unaware of the puppies’ presence when he emptied the trash cart into the truck’s hopper, said he was only a few moments away from pulling the lever that “crushes” the trash, when he heard a whimper and decided to investigate. 

He’s thankful he did.

Whimpering in the rain

It was an exceptionally rainy Tuesday morning, McDermott said, explaining that the constant downpour led to widespread area flooding later that day. As he emptied the trash carts in downtown Gainesville, he not only had the steady background noise of the trash truck’s engine, but the sound of the downpour also roared in his ears.

At a brick home on Fourth Street, he completed his usual routine, wheeling the residents’ trash bin over to the truck, hooking it to a mechanism mounted on the back of the vehicle and initiating the process of lifting the trash can into the air, inverting it upside down and dumped its contents into the back of the truck’s hopper. He said the hopper doesn’t drain well and was half full of water, mixed with trash that had already been collected that day. The trash cart lowered, and he pushed it back to its usual place next to the mailbox. 

“That’s when I first heard it - a whimpering or crying sound. I instantly went to the hopper, and I saw these two furry butts on top,” he said. “I reached in there and grabbed two of the tiniest, little puppies. I pulled them out and sat them down by the mailbox.”

As McDermott worked to dry the animals, who were by that time very wet and cold, he shuddered to think that he had been just moments away from pulling a lever that “crushes,” or condenses the trash, an act that surely would have killed the puppies. 

“After I set those two down, I realized I was hearing those two whimpering from the mailbox - but there was also more crying coming from the hopper,” he said. 

He went back to the trash truck and began rifling through bags. That’s when he saw, far down in the hopper, another little puppy’s face sticking out of a white grocery sack with the bag’s handle pulled tight around its neck, choking the little guy, who was also partially underwater inside the hopper. “I could tell he was drowning,” he said. “When I saw that, I just dove in.”

Up to his shoulder is trash and water, McDermott began flinging bags away from the little puppy. He grabbed the grocery sack and held it up in the air, so the puppy could breathe. As he worked to free the puppy’s neck from the bag handle, he felt the bag’s weight, and when he looked inside, he found four more puppies. Three were cold, wet and half drowned - but still alive. Another one wasn’t so lucky. It had already died.

At that same time, a resident across the street had opened the door to ask if the trash man could take a refrigerator box he hoped to haul away - and saw McDermott inside the truck’s hopper. The neighbor hollered to ask what was going on, and McDermott explained that he had found the puppies in the truck.

“I’m not going to lie, I was furious. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Live puppies, that age... that really takes a cold, heartless person,” McDermott said. He pulled each of the puppies out and sat them next to the mailbox. Once he was sure he had them all, he moved them to his truck and wrapped them in a safety vest for warmth.

“It was the only thing I had in my truck at the time,” he said. The resident across the street brought over a box and a towel, and the two men worked to dry and warm the animals the best they could. 

In the city limits of Gainesville, the trash service is contracted with GFL through the City of Gainesville; so McDermott pulled up to City Hall and waited.

That’s where city employees found him with the box of puppies, which they estimate to have been born within a day or two of being found, as several still had their umbilical cords attached and some were still covered in birthing fluid. 

“He brought them in here, and it was cold, and they were wet, and they were screaming... you know, they’re just little babies,” City Water Specialist Jessi Price said. “So, we tried to dry them off and turned on the heater on for them.” 

Unsure what to do next, Maintenance Supervisor Mike Davis decided to go to the Gainesville Veterinary Hospital, to explain the situation and ask if they could help. 

At the right place at the right time

It just so happened that at the time Mike arrived in the vet clinic lobby, Gainesville resident Peggy Williams and her 16-year-old daughter Riley were in an exam room with Dr. Brian Luark. The veterinarian was checking out a stray kitten Riley picked up from Dollar General, as it was having bowel issues. 

“So, we were at the vet with Bear (the stray kitten). I was just telling Bryan that she was a stray, and we were known for taking in the strays, bringing them home and finding them new homes,” Peggy explained. “So, Mike from City Hall was out in the lobby, and we were in the exam room and could hear what was going on. He said, ‘We have six puppies down at City Hall that were found in the trash that we need to find foster [families] for.’ Of course, Riley looks over at me with wide eyes. Then we hear [the clinic staff] ask, ‘What are they?’ And he says “Pit bull mix,” and then Riley’s eyes got even wider... I had just got done telling Bryan that we’re like the local pound. So, I hear him pipe up, ‘I know someone who can help!’”

After Bear the kitten was treated and loaded back up in the car, Riley asked Peggy if they could stop by City Hall to see the puppies. Peggy, who is as much of an animal lover as Riley, happily agreed. 

“When we walked in, Lisa is sitting there holding the little black male, and she said ‘I don’t think he’s going to make it. He’s not doing good.’ I thought, ‘Oh no. So, we took him and went to the vet. I told them I didn’t care what it cost. Put it on my bill.”

The vet clinic staff fed, cleaned up and bathed the tiny puppies. After a little care, they were doing much better.  

Adopting and fostering

Jessi’s daughter, 11-year-old Nyla, has adopted one puppy, a female who she named Bella. The family has two other dogs, and Bella seems to fit in well with the animals so far, they say. 

Peggy told the City Hall employees that she would foster the other five until they could find homes. 

Since that time, Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy and K9 handler Josh Sherman has adopted one of those puppies, a little brown and black female who he’s named Lola. At the Sherman residence, the puppy joined three other dogs: 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 still caring for the other four puppies - which is a pretty big job.

“We feed them before we go to bed around 9, and then Riley usually gets up around 1 or 2 a.m. after they start crying for food. They go back to sleep then, but around 4 a.m., it’s time to feed again. So, the whole family gets up and begins fixing bottles,” Peggy said. Then, there is the matter of cleaning them and their cage, as the puppies haven’t mastered bladder and bowel control yet. The routine is a lot of work, but Peggy and Riley don’t complain.

They’ve given the four puppies preliminary names: Thumper, Thumper 2.0, Bubba and Smokey. 

 They’ve found a home for one of the four puppies, whose owner is going to take over care once the puppies are off the bottle.

Peggy said that she and Riley might also adopt one, likely either Thumper or Thumper 2.0. She said Thumper 2.0 reminds Peggy of her beloved dog Nugget, who died right before Christmas at age 15. The Williams’ family currently has two cats, and one dog, a Chiweenie, named Snowball.

“The little Chiweenie, she’s 8, or 9 years old. At first, she was like, ‘Whatever.’ Now, she drives us crazy. She’s never had pups. She’s like Mama,” Peggy said.

Peggy says they will need homes for the remaining two puppies after they’ve been weaned off the bottle and require a little less round-the-clock care.

An animal lover with a big heart - and an Ozark County stray companion

McDermott says he’s still shocked when he thinks about what happened that morning, but he’s very thankful to the community members who have stepped up to help care for the puppies. 

Although he isn’t adopting one of the six puppies, he says he is a big animal lover. In fact, he said he found his beloved Jack Russell as a stray off Highway 160, just outside of Gainesville, while he was running his trash route. 

Now, the dog is a solid member of the McDermott family, along with three other dogs, a cat, chickens, ducks and sheep, which were rescued from a bad living environment.

Charged with animal abuse

After the puppies were taken to the vet, city employees called the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department to report what had happened. 

As a result, Gainesville resident Ronald Charles Schrine Jr., who is either 52 or 53 and was born in 1971, according to online court records, has been charged with one class A misdemeanor count of animal abuse by Ozark County Prosecutor Lee Pipkins. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Lane, he and Sgt. Seth Miller went to the residence where the puppies were found in the dumpster after receiving the report from City Hall. 

“I spoke with [a woman] at the residence, asking if she knew of the report made of 7 puppies being found tied in a trash bag alive in her dumpster. [The woman] stated yes, she was aware of the puppies in the trash, but was unaware of them being alive,” Lane wrote.

“When asked who put the puppies in the trash, [the woman] stated she did. When Sgt. Miller and I informed her [that] she was going to be placed under arrest, she stated she was lying, and it was her boyfriend, Ronald Schrine, who put them in the trash.”

The officers then asked that Schrine come to the door to speak with them. 

“[He] was asked if he was aware of the puppies in the trash, and Mr. Schrine stated yes, he was aware of the puppies in the trash...and alive. He stated he did not see an issue with it because he didn’t want them and didn’t know what else to do with them,” the report says.

In Missouri, a class A misdemeanor charge can result in up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. 

Schrine has been summoned to court for an initial arraignment before Associate Judge Raymond Gross at 9 a.m. Aug. 27. 

How to help

Those interested in adopting a puppy or donating supplies to Peggy and Riley for caring for the puppies, can call Peggy at 417-712-4112. They can use puppy pads, puppy food, soft dog food or any other dog supplies a person would like to contribute.