The numbers are imprecise but that doesn’t diminish the tragedy for dog lovers.

Dogs are being dumped on the roadside in south Dallas as their owners tire of them or can no longer afford to care for them.

That’s led three women to start an impromptu 'meals on wheels' for the animals.

Johnna Bigley, Deborah Trevino and Christi Davis have found parts of Melloy Bridge Road in South Dallas that seem to attract dog dumpers. The three women visit sites along the road every day, taking food, water and love to the animals.

"It’s just sad," Bigley says. "Someone dumped them out here, just like trash."

Each day she and her dog scout, which she found along the same roadside more than a year ago, travel Melloy Bridge by car, looking for animals in need. If she finds them, she feeds them. She can’t take them home, she already has eight dogs there.

Once Deborah Trevino found there was a need, she couldn’t stay away. She regularly communicates with Bigley to strategize on how best to help the dogs.

The areas that have the most animals are unincorporated parts of Dallas County, outside of Segoville and Forney, and not served by animal shelters.

The three women consider it there responsibility to care for the dogs. But they urge dog owners to be more responsible. "Try other options, rather than just dumping them out on the road," says Davis. "Go to a shelter. Get on line if you can and ask rescue facilities if they can take them rather than doing this first."

E-mail bharris@wfaa.com.