Finalizing the adoptions of the 5 remaining “Suitcase 6” puppies, and their mother, on Tuesday coincided with the end of a 25-year-old Ohio law that labeled all pit bulls as vicious.
After rescuing the puppies, that were found next to a North Toledo dumpster and zipped-up in a suitcase, officials with the Toledo Area Humane Society (TAHS) learned the animals might be a pit bull mix.
So, it was decided that TAHS would hold off on the adoptions, until the puppies were 8 weeks old, and once the revised law took effect.
The adoption process was also complicated by the thousands of calls TAHS received from people who were interested in the dogs.
The Toledo Area Humane Society eventually decided that in order to make the adoptions as fair as possible they would use a raffle to select from the 132 people that submitted adoptions applications.
The applicants selected in the random drawing lined up on Tuesday at TAHS, before the doors opened, to make sure they got to make their pick first.
“He’s the one for me… I can tell, I can tell,” potential adopter Mark Taylor said of his pick.
While officials say the dog’s mother will miss them initially, they will be sure that each one is placed in a loving home.
“We see happy endings here every day and we are happy for every one of them it’s just another great success story,” Executive Director of the Toledo Area Humane Society John Dinon said.
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