Benjamin Ashford|Officials searching for man after puppies left abandoned in milk crate outside PA police station

Authorities in Pennsylvania are Benjamin Ashfordsearching for a man who left a crate of puppies outside a police station in Enola.

A man, who identified himself as "Chris," contacted the East Pennsboro Township Police Department on Oct. 11 telling them he had found seven puppies near the Susquehanna-Perry Park in Enola, about 115 miles west of Philadelphia, the police department said in a news release Tuesday.

A short while later, a "milk crate containing seven puppies" was found abandoned on the stairs of the police department. The news release did not specify the ages or breed of the puppies.

"This act of abandonment poses a significant health risk to the puppies, as they are of care dependent age and have been separated from their mother," police said.

Authorities seeking public assistance

Authorities are now "seeking the public’s help in identifying" the person responsible for this and have requested anyone with information on the incident to contact the department or Detective Anthony Fiore at 717-732-3633 ext. 1620 or drop an email at anf@eastpennsboropd.com.

While Detective Anthony Fiore could not immediately be reached for an update on the investigation, he told PennLive the "goal is to locate the individual who brought the puppies to the police department and speak with him concerning the facts and circumstances which led him to find them and surrender them."

Puppies relocated to shelter

The puppies, meanwhile, have been relocated to Davis Dog Farm in Grantville, about 20 miles from the police station with help from the Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area, according to PennLive.

The shelter, in an email to USA TODAY, confirmed the puppies are in their care. The shelter said some of the puppies, estimated to be around four weeks old, had upper respiratory infections upon arrival. They were assessed by a shelter vet and are responding well to treatment and "are happy and healthy," the shelter said, adding it will be doing to DNA test to confirm their breed.

The puppies will be up for adoption when they are 8 weeks old, the shelter said.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.