Shelter 'Heartbroken' After 11 Dogs Bound For MN Die

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — A local animal shelter is mourning the loss of 11 dogs that were on their way to Minnesota.

Authorities say 50 rescue dogs were on their way to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley Saturday when the van they were riding in broke down on a Mississippi Interstate.

"It's heartbreaking," said Zach Nugent, a spokesperson for the Animal Humane Society. "Our hearts go out to the dogs involved and the volunteers."

The animals were coming from Southern Pines Animal Shelter in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The animals were about four hours into the drive up north when the van broke down.

Volunteers worked to remove the about dogs off the van, but 11 died.

"We had to get them out of those crates to a safe location, because those crates were nothing but heat traps," one volunteer said.

In a statement on the Southern Pines Animal Shelter Facebook page, the group wrote: "To say that we are grieving and devastated by the terrible accident that occurred yesterday would be an understatement."

The death of the dogs is still under investigation.

"Whatever we can do to assist them through this, we are there for them," Nugent said.

In the five years that the Animal Humane Society has been working with Southern Pines, 10,000 dogs have successfully been transported to its Golden Valley location.

The Animal Human Society said it's never had an incident like this before.

The Southern Pines group director says they believe carbon monoxide poisoning from a mechanical malfunction may be to blame for the dogs' deaths.

The remaining dogs on the van were taken to a nearby animal shelter.