1 of 6 dogs survives after being tossed from van along Michigan road, witnesses tell police

WAYLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a report of six Chihuahuas being thrown from a moving car in Allegan County, Michigan last week.

Only one of the six dogs survived. They’ve named her Lucky Lulu.

The 2- to 3-year-old Chihuahua is now in the care of a local pet rescue waiting to be adopted.

Witnesses said they saw the dogs thrown from a moving minivan along the 400 block of 124th Avenue, near 4th and 5th streets, around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 29. They said the Honda Odyssey the dogs were thrown from was headed west on 124th.

The witnesses were headed east and turned around after they saw what happened.

Lulu somehow survived. The others didn’t.

“They were beyond help by the time they got their vehicle stopped and turned around,” Allegan County Undersheriff Mike Larsen said.

The witnesses told investigators they took all six dogs home and buried the five who died.

They took Lulu to Pet Klips, a Wayland pet groomer Tuesday. The groomer also runs a pet rescue, and convinced them to call police.

“I can’t speak to why they chose to wait so long, but they are cooperating now,” said Larsen, who adds investigators are still trying to verify the witnesses story.

One suspect, the minivan driver, is described as a thin white man in his 20s to 30s with missing teeth and dark, curly hair. The woman passenger is described as a thin white woman in her 20s to 30s with blond hair and missing teeth.

As for Lulu, she appears to be fine physically but will need a lot of tender loving care. Both the sheriff’s department and Pet Klips say they’ve received several calls since the story broke.

The pet rescue has stopped taking adoption applications since they received more than enough and want to ensure that Lulu will go to a loving home.

As for the investigation, the sheriff’s department is still waiting to recover the bodies of the other five Chihuahuas and are looking for additional witnesses.

“It’s alleged that one of the dogs made contact with another moving vehicle. We’re trying to figure out who that would be and get them to come forward as well,” Larsen said.

Suspects in the case could face felony animal cruelty charges.

“To see something of this magnitude, with that many, especially in the manner that it was done on a public roadway with other people present, to witness it — if this did occur, it’s pretty rare,” Larsen said.