A neighbor heard the dog barking Thursday afternoon in the Clark Meadows neighborhood. After finding the dog in the dumpster at a construction site, the neighbor called police.
The Whitestown Police Department, Whitestown Fire Department and the Humane Society Boone County responded. Authorities said the dog is scared but otherwise appeared to be OK. They named the dog Ray, after the trash service in Whitestown.
Authorities don’t know how long Ray has been in the dumpster, but say he endured hours of rain and cold. They say he could have been seriously injured. The dumpster is in a new development under construction.
“There’s tractors and there’s roofers, and they could have easily thrown materials in here that could hurt him, either severely hurt him, if not killed him.” said Michelle Atkinson, Director of Fosters and Adoptions with The Humane Society for Boone County.
Humane society officials believe the dog is not a stray and was well taken care of, despite being thrown into the dumpster.
“He’s definitely been someone’s pet for at least the last eight years. His body condition is good. His nails are short. He is neutered,” said Atkinson.
Atkinson believes the dog is slightly older in age, making it even more painful to find out someone may have wanted to get rid of him.
“It makes me really upset, because he’s lived somewhere with some person for a long period of time and now his entire world has been turned upside down. There’s other ways,” she said.
Under humane society protocol, Ray will be held for seven days. The dog’s owner may claim him with proof of ownership. After those seven days, if no one claims him, Ray will be put up for adoption. Atkinson says this case stresses the critical need for an animal shelter in Boone County, a humane officer, and stricter state laws for animal cruelty.
“If there is indeed a neglect case, that dog is going to go to a foster home for up to year while it goes through the court system,” said Atkinson. She added, “we need a shelter. We need a place for these neglect cases to go.”
Anyone who saw anything suspicious around that area at that time should call the Whitestown Police Department at 317-769-2677. The person responsible for dumping the dog could face animal neglect charges.
(CBS4Indy - March 11, 2016)
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