On April 15, Nebraska Humane Society shared the shocking story. Animal Control responded to a call from someone who heard an animal inside a dumpster: she initially thought it was a raccoon but was shocked to discover it was a dog.
The dog was in an unbelievable condition: his head was entirely wrapped in duct tape, as was his tail, and his legs were taped together. He also reportedly had “food and other debris caked in his fur.”
“I have never seen anything like it,” responding staff member Kevin Wiederin told KETV. “The entire muzzle was taped, and then there was tape covering up the eyes and it was just sitting there and its front and back paws were taped together also.”
“I was absolutely sickened. It was it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen,” he added. “I can’t imagine doing that to another living being, let alone a helpless little dog and then just throwing it away like trash.”
It was a miracle he was discovered in time: NHS reports that, a half hour after Animal Control responded to the call, a truck came and emptied the dumpster.
The puppy was taken to the Nebraska Humane Society. He was sedated and the staff got to work removing the tape. They had to shave his fur to remove all the debris.
They wrote on Facebook that while the pup had mild skin irritation, he was “otherwise healthy and seemed to be in good spirits despite his condition” and “perked up and was wagging his tail.”
With the tape removed, the staff was thankfully able to find a microchip. It turned out the dog was named Leo, and he had gone missing a few days prior.
Leo’s owner Erin Dillon-Pasillas says the dog slipped out of the house while she was taking her son to school. She had spent days panicking and contacting shelters about her lost pet.
“Every day got more stressful… it was just crickets,” she told KETV. “I was shaking, calling them. You know, thinking, please be my dog, please be my dog.”
Erin was relieved to have her dog back, but was emotional over what happened to poor Leo. “He’s the sweetest dog! I don’t know why anyone would do this,” she told NHS.