Kidnap suspect’s dogs go to foster care

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Three dogs seized from a man charged with holding three women captive and raping them over a decade were placed in foster care Tuesday to await a decision by the women on whether to adopt them.

John Baird, chief Cleveland animal-control officer, said the dogs — a Chihuahua and two terrier-poodle mixes — were picked up by a rescue group that agreed to care for them. The group later was identified as Dogs Unlimited Rescue.

The Chihuahua was seized from the car of Ariel Castro, 52, when he was arrested at a fast-food restaurant shortly after the women escaped his Cleveland home May 6. The other two dogs were taken that night by an animal-control officer at Castro’s home, which has since been boarded up and fenced off as a crime scene amid arson threats.

The mixed-breed dogs had matted hair, but they otherwise appeared to be in good health and adequately fed, Baird said.