AKRON, Ohio -- Police finally caught up with a minivan carrying four caged puppies on its roof after dozens of calls poured in to 911 centres in northeast Ohio.

Akron police say the driver didn't realize he did anything wrong by leaving the mixed-breed puppies on the roof. He said Friday he was transporting them for his father, who couldn't keep them. He was taking the 3-month-old puppies to his wife's family in Pennsylvania, some 300 miles away.

He, his wife and their four children were inside the minivan. The Mennonite family from Nova, Ohio, turned over the dogs to police, who said they would be given to the Humane Society of Greater Akron.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports police didn't charge the man, but educated him on proper transportation of animals. The puppies appeared shaken, but fine otherwise.

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