If you have a pet you no longer want or can no longer take care of, there are ways to safely and humanely get them off your hands.

You can call the Huron Humane Society at 989-356-4794 or Second Chance Animal Shelter at 989-340-1700.

It’s that easy.

Instead, some scoundrel or scoundrels recently abandoned two puppies inside public restrooms in Alpena. One puppy was found inside the bathroom at Starlite Beach and the other inside a portable toilet on Rotary Island, according to a recent story by News staff writer Temi Fadayomi. The two puppies appear to be from the same litter.

With no apparent owners around when the animals were found, Alpena County Animal Control and the Alpena Police Department opened an investigation into animal abandonment. Animal abandonment of two animals can lead to up to a year in jail, a $2,000 fine, and community service.

Those animals did nothing wrong and didn’t deserve to be ditched inside a bathroom.

We’re glad the animals have been recovered by the appropriate agencies and are now being cared for.

We hope law enforcement can track down the person or persons responsible for abandoning those animals and that they’re prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law.

And, please, if you can no longer care for your pets, take care of them the right way.