Tragically, not every four-footer out there can count on a loving owner and a warm, comfortable home, as there are millions of pooches who have to survive on the streets or have to live with animal abuse.

A shocking discovery was made in northern New Jersey in the past week, as there were almost a dozen German shepherds found in the area, completely abandoned.

The details are still scarce and no one really knows what happened, but the authorities believe that one person is behind all of the dumped dogs. Luckily, the ten dogs they’ve already found in the Passaic and Bergen New Jersey counties are now residing safely at shelters, but the mystery remains.

Police officers estimate that these dogs have been in the wild for a considerable time. When animal organizations started finding more stray German shepherds than usual, they believed that all of them were connected.

One of those abandoned dogs, the six-year-old German shepherd who now goes by the name Shelby, was spotted by one of the residents in Closter.

The residents immediately took their phone and called Buddha Dog Rescue & Recovery, who quickly arrived on the scene to rescue the poor abandoned four-footer.

“She was very, very skittish. You could tell she wanted to be caught. But, you know, she was just very, very frightened,” Nicole Asher from the animal organization said.

At first, Nicole didn’t think much of it, but when she started talking to other animal rescuers, she noticed a pattern of dumped German shepherds.

“We had seen more posts that there’s four or five in Wayne, there’s two more in Teterboro, and two were found off the Palisades Parkway, and, we’re like, you know, alarm bells are going off in our heads,” she added.

Another animal organization, Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, also rescued numerous Shepherds around the area and has also taken in Shelby. At least ten dogs have been found so far.

“Who is dumping terrified German shepherds throughout Northern North Jersey?” their Facebook page reads. “In the past week, at least 8 German shepherd dogs, thought to be related, have been abandoned throughout northern New Jersey.

They believe that all these poor pooches are the victims of an illegal backyard breeder.

“Two other shepherds were rescued while running on the Palisades Parkway in Alpine, four more were found in Woodland Park, and one was found abandoned in Wayne. There are reports of sightings of at least 3 others possibly connected. None of the dogs have collars, tags or microchips, and all are very frightened, suspected to be the victims of backyard breeding.

“They all show signs of neglect: living without basic medical care, living in unsanitary conditions,” Megan Brinster of the Ramapo-Bergen animal refuge said.

Whoever is responsible for these abandoned pooches, deliberately dumped the dogs all across in order to be more subtle.

But police and animal organizations managed to put things together anyway.

Right now, the priority lies in finding these dogs a loving and permanent home, but it’s clear that the police are still looking for the perpetrator and want to see this mystery solved.

“I think with all of us putting our heads together, our heads and our hearts together, we can get to the bottom of this mystery and really bring whoever is responsible for this to justice,” Nicole Asher concluded.

They also believe that there are still a couple of German shepherds out there that need to be rescued and hope that the community can help find them. People who are experienced with German shepherds are also welcome to visit the sanctuary and discuss adoption possibilities.

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Source: CBS New York, North Jersey, Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge