Coachella woman arrested for tossing newborn puppies in a dumpster had 38 dogs in her home

Police have arrested a woman caught on video tossing a bag of seven newborn puppies into a dumpster in Coachella, the California desert town that hosts an annual music festival in April.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Deborah Sue Culwell, 54, was arrested on Monday after she was identified as the woman in the video. Police who went to her home in Coachella reportedly found 38 dogs in her filthy home, which has holes in the walls and broken furniture.

Despite the deplorable conditions, the dogs found in the home were reasonably healthy, according to the report.

Police have taken the dogs to Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms. They will not be made available for adoption at this time because they were confiscated by police, and authorities are reportedly working to identity the mother of the seven puppies Culwell allegedly dumped. All seven survived after they were discovered by a Good Samaritan who was looking through the dumpster.

“There is no excuse for dumping puppies,” Riverside County Animal Services Commander Chris Mayer said in a statement obtained by the Los Angeles Times. “Especially in today’s age when we or other shelters would be willing to get these animals to foster parents or rescue partners. This was a shameful act.”

Culwell is currently in custody at a jail in Indio, and had not put up the $10,000 bail at the time of the report.