[UPDATE] -- Moultrie, Ga. -- January 2, 2012 --

One cute puppy is the last of his kind. His brothers and sisters were drowned to death.

One neighbor said "I think that was a very cruel situation." A Moultrie Animal Control member said "this kind of act is more like murder because of the fact that you look at these puppies as like newborn babies."

On December 29th, Carl Dawson came home from work to find his house ransacked and his puppies missing. That's when he called the cops.

David Underwood is a Corporal with the Moultrie Police Department. He said "officers went in to clear the place and went into the bathroom. And inside the tub there was a large garbage can filled with water. And the puppies were inside the garbage can."

Those puppies were a poodle-chiwawah mix.

It began with a litter of six including the survivor named Brownie. They were born about 2 months ago. After the two puppies that Mr. Dawson gave away and the three that were drowned, Brownie is the only one left.

The police said they've identified a person of interest but no arrests have been made. Whomever did this is facing a minimum of 3 years in Prison. One year for each innocent puppy.

Carl Dawson said "they didn't do nothing. They didn't do a thing. So it's just bad stuff like that happens and you have people out there that would do stuff like that."

If anyone has any information about this crime contact the Moultrie Police Department. All calls can remain anonymous.

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WCTV has a reporter on scene and will bring you more information tonight on Eyewitness News.

Associated Press Release

MOULTRIE, Ga. (AP) -- Police in south Georgia say the suspect in a residential burglary apparently drowned three puppies inside the house before fleeing the scene.

WALB-TV (http://bit.ly/WZaP2x ) reports a Moultrie man who returned home over the weekend and found evidence of a burglary eventually stumbled upon the bodies of the puppies.

Authorities say they were drowned in a large trash can in the bathroom that had been filled with water.

Police say they have identified a person of interest but have not disclosed additional details.

Authorities say the suspect will likely be charged with criminal damage to property and three felony counts of animal cruelty.

Moultrie is about 40 miles southeast of Albany.