Bosnian woman claims she saved drowning puppies

The mystery surrounding a Bosnian teenager who apparently threw six squealing puppies into a fast-flowing river took an even stranger turn yesterday when a 75-year-old woman stepped forward to claim she had saved the young dogs' lives.

Ruza Pavlovic, who lives in Bugojino, the town where the suspected puppy thrower is thought to live, has told journalists that she fished the puppies out of the river. The 75-year-old villager said she spotted them struggling to stay afloat by the bank, as she headed off to work in a potato field.

One flaw in Pavlovic's claim is that while the puppies shown in the controversial video were black and white, the puppies she showed off to the world's press yesterday were black and brown.

But she insisted that these are the same puppies who last week sparked international outrage - as well as the offer of a $50,000 reward for the girl's identity from Transformers director Michael Bay.

"They are healthy and happy," Pavlovic said. "My problem is that they need at least three litres of milk a day and I live only on my small pension, but I do not have the heart to abandon them."

Meanwhile Bosnian police say they are confident that they have tracked down the puppy drowner to Bugojino. However they do not plan to reveal her identity, a spokesman said.

Under Bosnian law a person found guilty of animal cruelty can be fined anything up to $US6,400. However, nobody in the Balkan country has ever been prosecuted under this legislation. ·