GARFIELD — Over a dozen English and French bulldogs found in a hot van outside a Walmart store continue to recover at a shelter.

The Bergen County SPCA received a call on Saturday afternoon that someone was trying to sell the dogs from the van parked behind the store, according to NorthJersey.com.

The dogs were immediately taken to the SPCA's shelter in Teterboro where they were examined and given water.

Bergen County SPCA director Roni Wildoner told the news site that "if they were in the van any longer, they most likely would not have survived."

They had recently been flown to the United States from Columbia and were eventually headed to Florida, Wildoner told the station.

NBC 4 New York reported the driver of the van left the dogs alone in the van inside two crates. The SPCA was already removing the dogs by the time he returned.

Wildoner told the station the SPCA must first get the court to give them ownership of the dogs before they can be put up for adoption.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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