Humane Society Saves Three Puppies In A Box

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) It was a nondescript brown box, so ordinary that rescue driver Chris Ouwerkerk nearly kicked it out of his way as he got back into the big white Michigan Humane Society van.

Then something caught his attention while on a run at Mount Eliot and Lynch in Detroit.

"I almost kicked it to move it away, good thing I looked before because there were three little puppies in it, Ouwerkerk said. "I believe somebody seen the van ... and put the puppies in a box and put them at my car door."

The three pint-sized ragamuffins are about three-and-a-half weeks old, and they look like German Shepherd mixes, Humane Society staff said.

"They were all curled up together, obviously cold, they smelled a little bit, they were dirty, but other than that they were pretty healthy," Ouwerkerk said.

This video shows they're affectionate and friendly, love to give kisses and curl up in  Ouwerkerk's beard.  They were named Ebenezer, Tiny Tina and Charlotte Dickens.

After a good scrubbing and brushing, they're healthy and happy and just waiting to grow a bit until they're ready for a forever home.

But what would have happened if they didn't end up outside the car door of a rescue worker?

"More than likely, they would have froze to death," Ouwerkerk said.

The Humane Society is hopeful they'll be ready to go home by Christmas.

"These three will soon have their happy ending, but they're just a small fraction of the tens of thousands of animals brought to the Michigan Humane Society every single year," a Humane Society spokesman said.