A man who claimed to have found a dog discarded inside a black trash bag in a dumpster concocted his story, according to a Nebraska Humane Society press release issued Saturday afternoon.
The man, Kenneth Harrison, 28, and his girlfriend, who live in Omaha, owned the dog.
In a Saturday morning interview with NHS investigators, Harrison admitted to lying about finding the dog in a dumpster, according to the release.
Harrison, who claimed to be a New Yorker visiting family in Omaha, had initially told the Humane Society and members of the media he had found the dog while getting his truck washed near 72nd and Maple Streets.
“When I picked him up, he just immediately started licking,” Harrison told The World-Herald on Friday. “He climbed up my arm and onto my shoulder and just started licking. And I just melted.”
In a World-Herald interview Saturday, Mark Langan, vice president of field operations for the Nebraska Humane Society, said Harrison told investigators he was worried he'd have to pay a fee to surrender the dog or fines for not having a dog license.
"He simply could have surrendered the dog to us and walked out the door with no money out of his pocket," Langan said.
The NHS had first received a tip via phone Friday evening that Harrison and his girlfriend owned the dog. Harrison was cited under an animal control ordinance, which says it's illegal to lie to the Humane Society as to how one came into possession of an animal. He faces a maximum punishment of six months in jail and/or a $500 fine, Langan said.
Any person who donated to the Humane Society based on this story will be contacted and offered their donation back, the press release said. The silver lining, Langan said: "The dog showed no signs of injuries or illnesses that would be associated with being wrapped inside a plastic bag."
In other words, Little Eddie, a 2-year-old terrier mix, is doing fine.
(Omaha.com - June 29, 2013)
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