

If you needed another reason never to cross the Altamont Pass again, a story out of Stockton today tells of the rescue of three dogs over the holiday weekend who were apparently being abused and "rented" for sexual purposes. A local animal rescue group was alerted to the dogs' situation by a Good Samaritan, as CBS 5 reports,

The rescue group, Second Chance Kitty, says they got the notification about the dogs in need of help via social media, and they subsequently located the three dogs: a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix whom they named Ava; a female terrier mix they named Emma; and a male husky they named Lobo.

Cheryl Zuniga, who works with Second Chance Kitty, tells the Stockton Record that she heard about a story being told by a woman on social media who confronted several men living in a trailer on the 300 block of East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Stockton, claiming that they were keeping dogs for the purposes of sexual acts, and that men were paying for the privilege.

When subsequently confronted by Zuniga, the men allegedly said they had no knowledge of this, but gave up the dogs to her. A veterinarian subsequently found "obvious vaginal trauma" on the female dogs, as well as vaginal infections in need of treatment. Also, Ava is "very pregnant," and Zuniga says in the Facebook post below that they are waiting to perform a Cesarian on her in the hopes that her pups have a higher survival rate.

The male, Lobo, only showed signs of cuts on his leg. Zuniga writes on Facebook, "A previous owner for Lobo was located via an existing microchip; however, he had been rehomed over a year ago to an unknown Hispanic male for free... (another reason why "free" rehoming is dangerous for animals)."

Noting their affection for one another, Zuniga dubbed the trio the Three Amigos. She describes them all as "very submissive," and "their spirits are broken," saying to the paper, "This is really, really sad. Even though they have been through so much, they are the sweetest dogs. But they are afraid."

Zuniga has been in contact with Stockton police who say they're awaiting further evidence as they investigate. They have apparently conducted some interviews, presumably with the men at the trailer.