HOUSTON – A dog was found left in a dumpster in a housing community in Houston’s Fourth Ward.
The dog, a roughly two-year-old Rottweiler, was first spotted by residents of the Allen Parkway Village on Saturday night.
Residents called for help from a local cat trap, neuter, and release organization that does work in the community. The crew of four animal rescue volunteers arrived and found the dog lying in the corner of the dumpster.
“It was late night. I think they opened the dumpster and all they saw were eyes shining back at them,” said Dr. Shireen Hyrapiet of Fur A Pawsitive Future. “We know the dog didn’t go in here for food because it was quite empty.”
Volunteers said the dog was found lying at the bottom of the dumpster.
“I absolutely think someone came up and dropped him in. I can’t see the dog having gone in there on his own. I mean, you really don’t see dogs jumping into predominantly empty dumpsters,” added Diana Moreland of Berg Foster Life, a Houston-area animal rescue. “If it had been filled to the top or something, then maybe it would have jumped for the food, but I think a dog would have jumped into an empty dumpster. I think somebody dropped him in.”
After trying to coax the dog into a leash, they decided to lower a crate into the dumpster, where the dog walked right in.
“It definitely seemed like it might have been comfortable in a crate. It had probably been in one before,” Moreland said.
The pup was hoisted out and taken to a volunteer’s home for the evening before being transferred to BARC the following day. He’s currently on a 48-hour stray hold there. After that, he’ll be available for adoption.
“Unfortunately, putting a dog in a dumpster is obviously one of less ideal places to dump a dog, but people do very bizarre things sometimes,” Moreland said. “Taking it to the shelter is often one of the best resources. If you take it to the shelter, it gets heartworm tested, it gets initial vaccines.”
The Houston Police Department will investigate how the dog ended up in the dumpster.
