It always breaks our hearts to see animals carelessly abandoned. We can only hope that the poor animal will find the love and care they need, and that justice will be served to the people who discarded them.
And after one dog was cruelly abandoned last month, people are demanding answers for who is responsible.
Friends of Campbell County Animal Control in Virginia was shocked to find an unexpected animal on their property the night of November 29: a pregnant dog, left alone in the concrete fenced area outside.
Security footage revealed the heartbreaking truth: two people had ditched her there. They pulled up, dragged the expectant mother out of the trunk, and drove off.
The shelter is seeking information on who abandoned the dog. While they have them on camera, the footage doesn’t provide a clear photo.
It isn’t known why they left the dog, or even if they’re the dog’s owners.
“Do not assume this dog belongs to the humans involved,” FOCCAC wrote on Facebook. “If this dog was stolen, taken from a driveway, or is possibly the object of a neighborhood or family dispute, she needs to get home.”
“She may have been stolen from a neighbor, or part of a marital or custody dispute, or delivered from another county where the shelter was not open admission and would not take her in,” they said.
One silver lining is that the people abandoning the dog did at least leave her at a shelter, and not tied up in public where there would be no guarantee she’d find help.
But on the other hand, FOCCAC has open admission, so why wouldn’t they just surrender the dog properly? The dog was out in the cold for about 12 hours before being found.
“You know, it just astounds me that someone didn’t think to ask for help,” Kelsey Wright, the shelter employee who found the dog, told WSET. “They just took matters into their own hands and did what they wanted to do.”
“It’s not right to put an animal out to spend a night in the cold,” said animal control officer Benny David. “We need to know where they come from, what reason enough had to have health problems.”
“Were there any other problems with animal? We need to know of its owner. They can sign an owner surrender.”
But the dog, who they named Tilly, got the help she needed. Vets discovered that she had heartworms and was 45 days pregnant.
She also found a loving foster family, who treated her well and gave her some love and care as she was nearing labor.
“Another great day with our new family member,” the family said. “She ate like a champ this morning and loves laying on the sofa with her big ole belly in the crack between the cushions.”
On December 8, Tilly gave birth to 8 healthy puppies!
She looks like one proud mama:
While there was initially some worry about how Tilly’s heartworm would affect her newborns, they seem to be in good health.
Both the mama and her babies will transfer from foster care to an animal rescue who will give the puppies the care they need for ten weeks, until they are ready to find forever homes.
While everything worked out, the shelter pointed out that ideally the dog wouldn’t have become pregnant in the first place—a reminder that it’s crucial to get your pets spayed or neutered.
“A spay would have prevented any of this hoopla from happening,” they wrote. They took donations to treat Tilly’s heartworm and have her spayed.
The men who abandoned Tilly have yet to be found, and anyone with information is still encouraged to reach out.
But all things considered, things worked out well for this poor pregnant dog and her babies. Thank you to all the kind people who helped her!
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