A dog has been rescued from a remote trail in Oklahoma after a man was caught on camera dumping the pet to fend for itself in the middle of nowhere.
The puppy, now named Rocket, was found by animal rescuers after nine hours alone on the trail according to a post on Facebook by the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals.
Trail cameras showed a man abandoning the dog and driving away in his car, according to the post. Because the trail cameras were active rescuers were able to respond.
“This is absolutely not ok. Dumping a poor defenceless animal in the middle of nowhere and driving away is cruel,” the charity wrote.
Rescuers said that the pooch had been vetted, fed, and given a safe warm place to rest his head following the abandonment.
“While we understand that people may be struggling to care for their pets due to Covid, there are resources and organisations here to help, including us. Doing this to living, feeling being should never be the answer,” they said.
“Rocket was lucky,” they added. “If cameras weren’t rolling, who knows what fate would have befallen Rocket.”
“We will ensure he never suffers this fate again,” they said.
Emaciated Dog Now ‘Picture of Health’ After Foster Carer Helps Him Recover
It may be hard to watch this viral video that shows the harsh reality of animal neglect. Harold was skin and bone when he was found wandering the streets in North Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. But now is thriving and just like any other puppy—thanks to his foster carer.
Kayleigh McGovern, a volunteer and team member at Oshawa Animal Services, decided to look after the emaciated dog who was too weak to even walk back in July. She documented his progress and shared a slideshow of images on her TikTok page.
Kathy Pittman-Feltham, the shelter manager told Newsweek: “Harold quickly captured all of our hearts and we were rooting for him to get healthy and find his forever home.”
In the viral video that has 791,800 views, @kayleigh_mcgovern added on-screen text to explain each image. She stated he spent the first three days in bed and he didn’t have the strength to empty his bladder.
She wrote: “We shared many cuddles, watched lots of shows, and most importantly he got lots of rest.”
One image shows Harold’s skeletal body as the on-screen text explains: “This picture is still so jarring to look at. He was examined at the vet for possible causes of his emaciation. The vets concluded the only thing wrong with him was that he was essentially starving to death.”
After a few days of tender love and care, Harold started to feel stronger and became playful. Now four months on, he is just like any other puppy.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “Kayleigh helped nurse him back to health and he was then adopted by a member of the community who is a second-time adopter from us.
“He is doing phenomenal and is the perfect picture of health.”
Harold’s remarkable transformation has touched the hearts of thousands of TikTok users. But sadly, his situation wasn’t a rare case.
Each year 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “We see many sad cases come through our doors and the team is always excited to be a part of the next chapter in their story as most times we don’t have any information on their past.
“We are hoping Harold’s story shines a light on the many cases across the rescue world that need our help.
“Fostering saves lives and Harold is a perfect example of that!“
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