A California woman has been charged after she was recorded abandoning seven palm-sized puppies in a bin on a hot day.

The Riverside County district attorney's office charged 54-year-old Deborah Sue Culwell of Coachella with seven felony counts of injuring the three-day-old puppies and seven misdemeanour counts of abandoning them.

She could face a maximum seven years behind bars.

The puppies were found abandoned in a rubbish bin in California. ( Supplied: Riverside County Animal Services )

The case drew national attention after surveillance video showed a woman pulling up to a dumpster and casually tossing a bag carrying the puppies into the rubbish before taking off in a Jeep Wrangler on Friday.

KABC-TV reports that authorities believe the terrier-cross pups might not have survived the day's 32-degree heat if they had not been found within an hour of being dumped.

Authorities say they found another 30 dogs at Ms Culwell's home and they were impounded.

The CCTV footage helped police identify Culwell and her vehicle. ( Supplied: Riverside County Animal Services )

The video was posted by animal services in hopes of tracking the woman, and police say they found Ms Culwell and arrested her after running the Jeep's license plate through the system.

The Department of Animal Services (DAS) said the dogs were saved by a passer-by named John, who found them and promptly rescued them.

"The good Samaritan played a major role in saving theses puppies' lives," DAS's Chris Mayer said.

"His actions were humane and heroic."

AP