Caged Dog Abandoned Outside During a Blizzard Is Now 'Living Her Best Life' While Waiting for a Home
"I could see her shivering, but when she saw me, her tail wagged so hard it shook the crate," said the dog's rescuer
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Stray Dog in Kansas CityA Kansas City pup is safe after being abandoned during one of the city's heaviest snowstorms in decades.
According to a Facebook post by KC Pet Project, an animal shelter in Kansas City, Mo., one of the shelter's on-call officers in its Animal Services Division received an "urgent" notice about a dog abandoned in a crate on the sidewalk on Jan. 5 at 4 a.m. As the abandoned pup barked through the night, the city was experiencing one of the biggest blizzards in recent memory, dumping nearly a foot of snow throughout the metro area, per the National Weather Service.
The caller, identified by the shelter as an "elderly man," was awakened by the trapped dog's barking but "couldn't bring the dog inside himself" — so KC Pet Project dispatched an officer to rescue the pup. The shelter wrote that the officer, animal services field supervisor Angelina Bryant, "braved the freezing cold and treacherous conditions to rescue a dog in need." Even though the shelter's gates were frozen shut because of the "extreme weather," she climbed them and hopped into her own vehicle to rescue the pup.
"When I got there, I could see her shivering, but when she saw me, her tail wagged so hard it shook the crate," said Bryant, per the shelter's post.
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"[The dog] was pacing, it was cold — shivering," the field supervisor said in an interview with KCTV 5. "How can someone do this? I don't understand. You don't know the circumstances, you don't know what's going through someone's mind, but I don't understand how someone could leave a dog in that type of condition."
Bryant added in the KC Pet Project's post: "We are essential workers. It doesn't matter how tired or cold we are — we have to show up."
As Bryant returned to the KC Pet Project, she gave the initial caller a ring to inform him that the pup would receive the care she needed. "When expressing his gratitude, he even got a little choked up and shared how he believed a divine intervention woke him up to save her," the shelter wrote. "The dog is now safe at our shelter, warm and comfortable."
According to KCTV 5, the pup has not yet received a name, and while it's difficult to determine her age, representatives for the shelter estimated she is roughly one year old. Despite the unimaginable conditions she weathered, she had no injuries or frostbite and has spent the following days "living her best life" in Bryant's office, she said.
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The dog is now at a no-kill rescue shelter, awaiting her forever home, KCTV 5 reported.
According to Bryant, it's not uncommon for KC Pet Project to receive an uptick in calls when the city faces harsh weather conditions. "We have been really busy," she told KCTV 5. "A lot of welfare checks, animals being left out in the snow."
As for advice to pet owners during the cold winter months: "If your dog has to be outside, it should have accessible, adequate shelter with straw inside. Some way to let them get out of the elements and keep warm," Bryant said.
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