SO SAD
Heartless owner leaves old, sick dog outside all night long at S.I. animal shelter Heartless owner leaves old, sick dog outside all night long at S.I. animal shelter
An old, sick Yorkshire terrier was dumped in the freezing cold outside a closed Staten Island animal shelter - and had to be euthanized.
The pooch, which was more than 10 years old, was found early Thursday by workers arriving for work at the NYC Animal Care and Control shelter on Veterans Road West.
The animal, trapped in a carrier and with no ID tags, was half frozen after hours in the 21-degree air.
A tumor on his paw had erupted and his liver was failing when he was rushed to a veterinary hospital, where he was put down.
It's unknown who dropped off the ailing dog or how long he was outside. The shelter was closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
"You don't have to dump your animal; you have choices," said Fran Grimaldi of Pet ResQ Inc., which paid for the animal's medical care. "They should have waited for the shelter to open."
Whoever dropped the dog there could face misdemeanor charges if caught.
"You can't just drop an animal at a shelter," said Howard Lawrence, senior director of operations for the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement division. "You need to surrender an animal and do it appropriately."
Dog owners are also required by law to keep their pets in appropriate shelter during cold weather and heat spells.