A couple charged with animal cruelty for leaving puppies near a bridge, two of which were dropped over it, were arrested today after they failed to appear in court this morning.

The magistrate in Miami County Municipal Court on Tuesday morning issued warrants for the arrests of Shonda Lee, 39, and her boyfriend Steven Bixler, 32. Both are Piqua residents. They were arrested Tuesday afternoon, booked into jail, arraigned and released on their own recognizance.

Bixler faces four counts of abandoning animals and two counts of animal cruelty. Lee, the owner of the puppies, was cited with one count of animal cruelty by the sheriff’s department and charged by the county dog warden for failure to license the mother dog.

A deputy assigned to the Miami County Park District was on foot patrol Nov. 9 at the Farrington Reserve when she heard the puppies yipping and a car speeding away. Two of the puppies were dropped 15 feet over a Peterson Road bridge guard rail along the bank of the Great Miami River.

The other two Labs were left on the roadside.

The two puppies dropped from the bridge fell about 20 feet, according to reports. They were not injured and were put in care of the Miami County dog warden.

Both Bixler and Lee were located after a citizen called Miami County 911 Center and the Miami County Animal Shelter Saturday morning after recognizing the puppies.

The Miami County Animal Shelter, 1110 North County Road 25A, Troy, received an “overwhelming response” from people wanting to adopt one of the puppies, according to Debbie Hale, Miami County deputy chief animal control officer.