Rat terriers in spillway a mystery

Eleven rat terriers have been left in the spillway in the last eight months.

For the second time in less than a year, St. Charles Parish animal control workers have been called out to the Bonnet Carré Spillway for an unusual request - to pick up purebred rat terriers.

The terriers, which have all been male, were abandoned and left to fend for themselves in the spillway. So far, a total of 11 have been found and collected.

“We’ve never had anything like this before - where someone was dumping purebreds,” Animal Control Director Angie Robert said. “If anyone sees someone dumping animals, they need to call us.”

Robert said she doesn’t want to speculate on whether or not the dumping was done by the same person, but says that it’s highly coincidental that rat terriers have been left in the spillway twice. The first time animal control was called, they found six terriers. The second time, they found five.

All of the terriers, except for one, were younger that one year old.

“We have been able to find all of them homes,” Robert said. “That wasn’t hard to do when you’re dealing with purebreds.”
Rat terrier puppies can be sold for more than $300 a piece.