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abandoned puppiesSACRAMENTO-

Five dogs are looking for new homes after what experts at Sacramento’s Front Street animal shelter say appears to be intense abuse.

A year-old male pit bull and four mixed-breed pups were dropped off at the shelter after a woman found them abandoned.

She told shelter staff they appeared afraid and were huddled together in the parking lot of the Walgreens store at Norwood Avenue and I-80.

All of them are scrawny and some of the younger dogs are having trouble walking because they haven’t had enough to eat for quite some time.

“When anyone human or animal is starved like that the muscle begins to atrophy. You should never see the ribcages and the spinal bones in an animal that way. They’ve been starved,” Shelter Director Gina Knepp said.

Knepp suspects whoever’s responsible has keep the mother so they can continue to breed her.

She intends to check surveillance tape at Walgreens to find out who committed this act of animal cruelty.

If you know anything about what happened to these dogs, you’re asked to call (916) 808-8333.