Stolen Puppies That Were Being Neglected

My question involves criminal law for the state of: OREGON

I went to the police 15 times ( according to them) about a starving mama dog and 15 babies. They were owned by a meth addict who kept them in a small cage ( total of 2 mamas and 15 babies in the cage) surrounded by wood. They were in there with no food or water. The mama who I have multiple pictures of was starved , her pictures show all of her ribs, hips and hollow face. The police would not confiscate the dogs and even said "we can't make anyone feed their dog". I live in a small town with no animal resources and just hillbilly good ole boy cops. I contacted PETA and HSUS as well as went to the city attorney. This only pissed them off and I got a call from the LT. saying he doesn't appreciate getting calls that he is not doing his job. Then he called me about a week later and said the mom and 13 puppies were gone and that he doesn't know where they went. Another cop said they are probably dead.
Two more puppies were left in the cage in their own waste, 20 degree temps and no food or water ( approx 8 wk old pups). I went back to the police to do something about them but they chose not to and said they spent more time on these "damn dogs" then burglaries.
I told them I was going to get help for those puppies. Well help must have come because they are gone. The police came the next day ( 3 officers) and accused me of taking the puppies and said I could be charged with felony class A accessory to theft. They said they were taking it to the DA and I have not heard anything since then. That was a week ago.
I have wanted to call the police to see if they filed anything but not sure if I should.

Two wrongs don't make a right. You're breaking the law. The limit of what you can do is to either convince the meth-head to voluntarily give up the dogs or continue with the police/prosecutor/animal control officers to get them to intervene.

Thank you for your reply.
The pups are GONE!! As I explained going to the police offered no help. Talking to this lowlife meth addict did no good either. The pups were in distress in below freezing temps with no food or water or shelter.
I did not personally take the dogs but I did put out a plea for help in a rescue community.
The cops say they are wanting to charge me with accessory for having put the plea out on the internet.

I guess then what it comes down to is that I will face jail time for the police not upholding the laws of animal cruelty and the meth addict walks away with having abused, neglected, killed, dumped dogs.

Ok Thank you.
This is why I believe in vigilante justice, because the Justice system is so tainted and never works in favor of the helpless.

The police are blowing smoke most likely. Publicizing the plight of the animals such that someone else took action (criminal or not) is not criminal in it's own right.
Tell them you will not speak to them further without an attorney. If you're charged, get an attorney, but if you didn't have a hand in taking the animals it won't likely come to that.
Further, unless Mr. Methhead makes a compelling case that someone stole his abused animals, the police aren't really inclined to act (most likely they threatened you to get you off their backs as a perceived nuisance).

Ok thank you very much for your advice.
I guess it is a wait and see game. They drive by my house periodically, not nearly as much as they did the first day. I think they really believe they will see these puppies running around my yard.
Nice to see they waste so much of the tax payer money on this kind of stuff. Perhaps that is why our crime rate in town is up 15 %?

From experience...

Regarding the Meth: How do you know the guy was a meth addict?

This could explain why the police could not act on a tip about the meth and the dogs....they need legal probable cause to do a search. Not a photo that could be from someone else's property.

Drugs....from experience with druggie neighbors...there either needs to be a decent amount in the home, or the person must possess it. My former neighbors got off a few times because there was a joint on the table. They got arrested because of having either: Joint in the pocket of clothing they were wearing; or scales, baggies, cash, and a decent amount of money (which proved dealing).

At that point, the cops may find the dogs....or if Multiple people are reporting the dog situation, and not being anonymous, they are more likely to investigate. (I stress - not people from the same address)

Hi and thank you for your reply.
First as for him being on meth, his physical appearance is the first sign...missing teeth, sores, gaunt, voiolent behavior when you approach him. Next would be the fact that the police have stated he is a revolving inmate for a long history of meth use.
The police know he is on meth so they don't need any tips.
They had been out to his property multiple times and cited him for the mama dog wandering the street in search of food. They even took their own pictures of the dog's at PETA's request. The vet in town confirmed that the mama dog was malnourished. None of the conditions of the dogs was in question. The reasons for them not doing anything is what is so puzzling. Others have said it is because he is an informant for them on the meth users here..mostly though is because they are lazy keystone cops!

The dogs are GONE. The police claim they have no idea what he did with the starving mom dog or 13 of the babies, the meth head claims the police took them. One cop told me they are probably dead.
The threats of arrest came from the two pups that were still there when all the others disappeared.
There also were others that called the police. One of them called when he was BEATING the mama in the street and dragged her home a block away by her front paws. The woman said the cries from the dog were awful..still the police did not remove her.

Animal abuse and neglect is very high here. It is a small town with no animal control and the police do not like to have to deal with animal calls...and they let you know it!!