CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Chesapeake library workers came to the aid of a dog abandoned in the woods outside of their workplace.
The dog is now in the care of Chesapeake Animal Services, getting the care it needs thanks to the quick actions of those at the Russell Memorial Library.
Sarah Lundblom says she got to work early Tuesday and her car was facing the woods nearby.
As she waited to go into work, she watched something strange happen right in front of her.
“I saw this car drive in through the front, she just stopped about right here, opened her trunk took a small black, dog, well I thought it was a trash bag at first, and threw it back there,” said Lundblom.
A sweet little dog thrown like trash behind a dumpster.
But she wasn’t there for long.
“I go back there and there’s a very tiny, shy puppy, I tried to get it to come to me but she skidded away and understandable, she just got thrown out of a car,” Lundblom said.
Lundblom’s coworkers jumped in to help the little dog.
“It’s so cold outside and we pretty much corralled the puppy as best as we could,” said library worker Julianna Stinebaugh.
“We wanted to keep her warm, so put her in a box and had a sheet in it and one of my sweaters was wrapped around her trying to keep her warm,” said library assistant Shannon Thompson.
The little dog is now at Chesapeake Animal Services resting up.
Jennifer Fly, an animal control officer with the City of Chesapeake, says this happens a bit more often than people think.
Two other dogs were recently left at a Chesapeake park right before Thanksgiving.
Fly says abandoning an animal is a misdemeanor and there are other options.
“There really is no reason to leave them elsewhere when we have the shelter we run from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to pick up surrenders,” Fly said.
The women who stepped in to help are glad they got to the dog before the temperature dipped last night.
The two dogs abandoned at a park are up for adoption now, the little black dog found here will be up for adoption December 3.
10 On Your Side also called cities in Hampton Roads to ask about their surrendering policies.
Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center accepts surrendered pets from Norfolk residents only. There is a $15 fee to surrender the animal.
Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center is an open admission shelter, meaning we do not turn away animals.
In order to surrender an animal to the shelter or an animal control officer in Virginia Beach, you do need to live in the city and have proof of ownership of the animal. Should you not have proof of ownership, then the animal will be taken in as a stray and the state mandated hold periods will apply.
The Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter, which serves Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and York County, says it doesn’t turn any animal away.
You have to be a resident to surrender your pet to the Portsmouth Humane Society.