SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — After nearly a dozen puppies were dumped behind the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Haven, many of the puppies have found their forever homes.

Camille Wilson, who helped foster the puppies, described the July incident.

“It was a crate of the 11 puppies pushed between bushes up against the back side of the building,” Wilson said. “No food, no water. They were covered in poop, pee.”

Security footage from when the puppies were dumped shows a man getting out of a truck, hopping into the tailgate and retrieving the crate of puppies. One puppy even fell out of the crate and onto the ground. Then, the crate was placed between the bushes lining the building.

“It’s been happening regularly,” James Johnson, co-owner of Rover’s Retreat in South Haven, said. “People are dropping them off on the side of the road, just abandoning them like they did these puppies in a cage. Bring them to a place like this, to the animal shelter in town, the police station — somewhere where you know they’re going to be seen.”

But there was a happy ending to what could’ve ended terribly. After being nursed back to health, the puppies were doing well — and as of Saturday, six of them had found homes.

“It’s been really satisfying,” Johnson said. “I mean, you pick up a dog that used to fit in the palm of my hand, and now I have to hang on to her with both hands.”

“It’s been a journey for sure,” Wilson said. “And watching them get bigger and healthier and everything.”

The remaining five dogs were at Al-Van Humane Society.