Puppy found alive in trash April 28, 2012 By Greg Bock (gbock@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror The discovery of a live puppy in a trash bin led to the confiscation of seven dogs and the owner's arrest on obstruction of justice charges, Altoona police said Friday. Carolann E. Zumstein, 20, of 203 E. Maple Ave. was arrested Thursday after Altoona police, assisted by Central Pennsylvania Humane Society police officers, arrived at her Fairview Hills apartment to check on the welfare of a litter of puppies that police had learned about the day before. A resident of the housing complex flagged down an officer to say she had found one of the puppies wrapped in a plastic bag and stuffed in the outside trash bin, police said. It was Wednesday when the resident told police she found the dog as she was placing her trash in the bin, court records show. The woman said she heard a rustling sound and the puppy yelping and crying. When she took out the plastic bag, she discovered the puppy inside, wrapped in a pink blanket, police said. Another resident, Brandy Carter, walked out of her apartment and told the woman the dog belonged to Zumstein and she was helping Zumstein care for a litter of nine puppies because the dogs' mother had died, police said. Carter took the puppy, and police said they later learned Carter had four of the puppies and Zumstein had another three. Carter claimed the dogs were being fed a "special puppy formula" and told police she believed the puppy from the trash had "parvo," slang for canine parvovirus type 2, which is highly contagious to other dogs and usually fatal if untreated, Zumstein's arrest papers state. Carter told police it was the "runt" of the litter, had appeared very ill and she thought it had died, Altoona Lt. Jeffrey Pratt said. "Carter claimed she didn't know how the dog ended up in the Dumpster," Pratt said. Police talked to Zumstein and told her she needed to take the dogs to a vet, which police said Zumstein promised to do, and on Thursday, they showed up at her apartment to check on the dogs. Pratt said Zumstein became unhinged when the Humane Society officers told her they were taking the puppies to see a vet. Zumstein grabbed three puppies, "squeezing and jostling" them as she backed away and shouted at the officers. Officers gave Zumstein numerous chances to hand over the puppies before telling her she was under arrest for obstructing police, at which time she began squirming and flailing her arms and screaming, Pratt said. Zumstein tripped over a pile of clothes and clutter, dropped one of the puppies and fell on it during the ensuing struggle to take her into custody, police said. Zumstein allegedly fought with officers to the point where they asked a relative to usher her 1- and 3-year-old children from the living room, where Zumstein knocked over a baby swing and other furniture. The puppies were ultimately collected and taken to the Humane Society for treatment. A Humane Society official said the dogs had been adopted and were not at the shelter Friday afternoon. Zumstein was lodged overnight in Blair County Prison. She posted a $7,500 bond through a bail bond service on Friday, records show. She is charged with obstructing administration of law, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, endangering the welfare of children and harassment. A preliminary hearing is slated for Wednesday in Central Court. http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/560342.html
