North Salem resident Marcelino Robledo Guardado was arrested on Thursday, Aug. 1 in connection with the abandonment of three female collie and lab mixes in Putnam County on Saturday, July 13, the Putnam County SPCA announced on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
On the day they were found, the three dogs were discovered covered in fleas and ticks while wandering the area of Sunken Mine road in Putnam Valley, which is part of Clarence Fahnestock State Park, SPCA officials said.
After they were found, the dogs were brought to the Putnam Valley Dog Shelter.
When a picture of the dogs was posted on social media, the SPCA received one tip suggesting that they were possibly owned and abandoned. Over three weeks, detectives were able to identify Robledo Guardado as a suspect and found him at his residence on the day of his arrest.
When detectives interviewed him, Robledo Guardado allegedly acknowledged that he abandoned the dogs in the area of Sunken Mine Road. He was then arrested and charged with three counts of animal abandonment and three counts of animal cruelty, officials said.
Since the day they were found, the three dogs, named Valley, River, and Rain, have found "comfort and love" at the shelter they were brought to, according to the SPCA.
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