Three dogs were found dead and another 12 were missing Sunday after someone broke into a Riverside County animal shelter and clipped the locks on 22 kennels, officials said.
When an employee arrived at the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley about 6:30 a.m., he spotted dozens of dogs loose on the property, with 22 kennel runs broken open, said John Welsh, a spokesman for the Riverside County Department of Animal Services. Each kennel run holds one to five dogs.
Two dogs, a Yorkshire terrier and a Chihuahua, were found dead on the property, and a German shepherd was found dead after it was hit by a vehicle about a mile away, Welsh said.