Puppy Found Freezing To Death In Detroit Trash Can — $2,500 Reward For Info On Who Did It

The Michigan Humane Society is offering a $2,500 reward for anyone who has information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever left a puppy in a freezing Detroit trash can to die.

According to the Huffington Post, on November 30 a Detroit resident noticed a small Pomeranian-mix puppy curled up inside a trash can, fur covered in frost. The citizen called the Detroit animal rescue department about the puppy, unsure if it was still alive.

When the rescuers arrived, they found the puppy unresponsive but clinging to life inside the trash can. When the rescuer made noises to get the puppy’s attention, the animal’s ears twitched. It is clear the puppy was intentionally left to die in the trash can because the animal was too tiny to have climbed into the bin itself. The trash can was left upright and full of garbage.

The Michigan Humane Society posted a video about the puppy to their Facebook page in the hopes of catching the cruel individual who is responsible. You can hear the heartbreaking story of the abandoned Detroit puppy in the video below.

“He had obviously been there for some time,” said Debby MacDonald, the chief cruelty inspector at the human society. “It was obvious that somebody put that dog in that trash can. I mean there was no way for this dog to get in that trash can by itself.”

The rescue team wrapped the dying puppy in a blanket and rushed it to a Detroit veterinary clinic, but it could not be saved. The Michigan Humane Society Detroit Center for Animal Care did everything they could to treat the puppy’s injuries and get it to recover, but due to the extent of the injuries it sustained while freezing in the trash can, the clinic had to humanely euthanize the animal.

MacDonald is determined to find justice for the poor animal, calling this kind of cruelty “unacceptable.”

“And it needs to be unacceptable to us as a community. We need to step up and be the voice for these animals. We need to take some action to make sure this doesn’t happen, and to make sure the person responsible for this comes to justice.”

In the hopes that somebody from the Detroit area or elsewhere knows something about the abandoned puppy, the Michigan Humane Society has put up a $2,500 reward to anyone with tips that could lead to an arrest. Any Detroit residents with information about the culprit should immediately call the Michigan Humane Society Cruelty Investigation Department at (313) 872-3401.

Debby MacDonald also encouraged people outside of Detroit to call their local humane society if they believe an animal is being abused, because humans have to be the voice of creatures who cannot speak up for themselves.

A similar act of cruelty took place in Detroit earlier this year when a family found a puppy abandoned in their freezing cold trash can. The puppy sustained many bite marks and injuries, leading her rescuers to believe she had been used as a “bait dog.” Fortunately, this story ended much more happily. The Detroit family helped nurse the puppy back to health and, thanks to $8,000 in donations, the medical costs of reviving the animal were covered.

How do you think a person should be punished for leaving a puppy to die in a freezing cold trash can like the puppies found in Detroit? And how can a city prevent people from committing future acts of animal cruelty?

[Photo courtesy of the the Michigan Humane Society]