Police seeking dog’s owner after pup found abandoned in sealed storage tote
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (KCTV/Gray News) – Kansas authorities say they are looking for the owner of a dog that was left outside an animal care center on Friday.
According to the Bonner Springs Police Department, officers and animal control were called at about 6:30 a.m. about an abandoned puppy found inside a sealed plastic storage tote outside the Bonner Springs Animal Care Center.
Authorities said the dog was found with a homemade cone around its neck and appeared to be suffering from a possible rectal prolapse.
Writing on the outside of the tote indicated the dog’s name may be Kenji, with a listed birth date of Nov. 13, 2025. A note on the tote also stated the dog has a “big appetite when he feels better.”
Bonner Springs Animal Control said that abandoning an animal is illegal under city ordinance.
“Leaving a dog taped inside a plastic tote with no ventilation, during a storm, while the dog is suffering from a rectal prolapse, is not an act of compassion or desperation — it is abandonment and it places the animal at serious risk of suffering or death,” the statement said.
The agency said no one contacted animal control, the police department, a rescue organization, or veterinary clinic staff for assistance before leaving the dog.
“If they had, we would have worked to find a humane solution,” authorities said.
Animal control noted that veterinary clinics are not shelters and that many do not have the legal authority or capacity to accept stray animals, adding that leaving an animal on clinic property does not guarantee it will receive care.
The Bonner Springs Police Department and animal control are asking the public to help identify the dog’s owner while they are continuing their investigation.
“Our detective has recovered DNA evidence (human hair) as well as fingerprints from the tote,” police stated.
Anyone with further information has been asked to contact the Bonner Springs Police Department at 913-422-7800.
Copyright 2026 KCTV via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more U.S. news, click here.
