NEW ORLEANS — The Metairie Humane Shelter is looking for answers after a shopper at a supermarket discovered a dog wearing a shock collar inside a taped, abandoned box in the parking lot.
The woman noticed the box moving in the parking lot Wednesday at the Winn Dixie on Airline Drive in Metairie. When she realized a dog was inside, she brought it to the Metairie Humane Shelter a few blocks down the road.
“We got him out of the box eventually, the poor baby had a shock collar on,” said Vice President of Metairie Humane Shelter, Jamie Hirstius. “He was in relatively good shape but matted up. He had pin needles all up in his hair, his belly matted but he’s a handsome fella.”
The shelter spent several hundreds of dollars to have the dog taken to a veterinarian. They have posted his picture on social media, but his owner has not come forward.
“It doesn’t seem he’s had a whole lot of human touch. He cowards and flinches when you first touch,” said Hirstius. “But he’s as sweet as can be. It’s hard to believe someone put this dog in a box.”
The shelter has named the dog “Rusty” and says the veterinarian believes he is a 2-year-old full-bred Pomeranian.
His caretakers worry about what could have happened to him if no one had looked inside, and are frustrated that there is little that can be criminally done to whoever is responsible.
“The laws are just too lax,” said Hirstius. “This is just abandonment, it’s not covered under animal cruelty or abuse laws.”
The Metairie Humane Shelter says there are already several people interested in adopting Rusty, but he will stay in their care until he can be neutered. For more information about the Metairie Humane Shelter, and their fundraisers to support dogs like Rusty, click here.
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