Scioto County deputies were called to the Super 8 on U.S. 23 after a report that a man drove erratically through the motel parking lot, hit the side of the building, ran over several puppies, and fled.
The call came in shortly before 11 p.m.
The first report described the vehicle as a white Dodge Durango, though another caller later described it as a white Ford Explorer.
Deputies issued a BOLO to Portsmouth police and New Boston police.
A man later called 911, and dispatchers pinged the call near 15th Street and Scioto Trail.
According to the sheriff’s log, the man claimed he did not need help, but admitted he had thrown a woman out of the vehicle after a verbal argument over the dogs.
He refused to give his name and disconnected before dispatchers could get more information.
Deputies later spoke with the woman involved.
She told deputies they had been arguing, and she was trying to get her belongings out of the vehicle when the man took off erratically and ran over the puppies.
He then fled the scene.
The dog warden was contacted about the dead puppies. According to the sheriff’s log, the warden advised there was no way to remove the bodies and said they would have to be bagged and taken to a dumpster or the pound dumpster.
Deputies gathered information for a report.
No arrest was listed in the information provided.
Running over puppies during a motel parking lot meltdown is not just “drama.” It is the kind of ugly, cruel chaos that leaves everyone else to clean up the damage — the woman tossed out of the vehicle, the motel staff dealing with the scene, deputies trying to find the driver, and dead animals left behind in the parking lot.
Deputies were still working from conflicting vehicle descriptions and an unidentified 911 caller in the information provided.