Security cameras captured a cruel act of animal abandonment in a backyard near Atlantic Avenue and Third Street. On Thursday, May 11, three individuals—one adult male and two adult females accompanied by what appeared to be a white pit bull mix—walked down an alley, one of the females carrying a puppy. They stopped at the end of the alley, and the woman heartlessly tossed the little dog over a fence into a backyard and then ran away with the other individuals.
“You can see and hear them laughing as they dump the puppy and run,” one resident said.
You can also hear the frantic crying of the frightened little dog as she runs from end to end of the fence.
Fortunately, the residents knew enough about dogs to determine gender and approximate age. The puppy had a collar but no tags and appeared to be 6 months old, they said, and was dehydrated, starving, and covered in fleas and ticks.
“They were large ticks, the size of popcorn kernels,” a resident said. “And we could feel her bones when we pet her.”
The resident and the neighbors removed the ticks and gave the puppy food and water. The dog is now at animal control, where she’ll be assessed.
The puppy is thought to be a female terrier or poodle mix.
Shelters and the animal community at large are well acquainted with abandoned animals. Seeing the abandonment in action, particularly cats and dogs tossed out of cars or left in garbage cans at their birth, adds to the pain and compassion they feel—the video will give the reader a good taste of it. Fortunately, the footage is reasonably clear and will hopefully result in identification of the abusers.
Animal abandonment is considered a misdemeanor under California Penal Code 597s, Willful Abandonment of Animal, and the merciless act of tossing the puppy over the fence could result in further cruelty charges. If you have any information about any of the suspects in the video and the still shots below, please call Long Beach Animal Care Services’ Special Investigations Unit at (562) 570-3086.
