An animal rescue group is now caring for a small dog who was found beaten and left for dead inside a trash bin. The dog nearly lost her eye and her ability to walk.
A couple who heard whimpering sounds Sunday night coming from an apartment complex dumpster in North Dallas found the dog wrapped in a sweatshirt, injured and having trouble breathing.
"When we saw her, I wasn't sure how well she was going to do, even through that first night," said Molly Chance, with Heaven's Helpers Pet Rescue. "She's a fighter."
Chance's rescue group is fostering the Chihuahua until she's well enough to be adopted and pending the outcome of a police investigation. Dallas police confirmed they've opened an animal cruelty case and a possible owner has been identified, but no arrests have been made yet.
According to Heaven's Helpers, a veterinarian determined there were signs the dog was choked. Her eye was bulging out of its socket, and she had trauma to her head and her hind legs.
"I have a hard time with my anger about it," Chance said. "There's no excuse and no reason to ever put a dog through what she went through."
The dog was micro-chipped, and an owner was contacted by the vet, Chance said, but the owner hung up the phone. NBC 5 attempted to reach the woman at her home near the trash Dumpster, but there was no answer at the door.
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Chance named the dog Sparrow. After multiple visits to the vet, Sparrow is doing better. Her eye is healing and she's walking more. Chance says she's an older dog with a sweet temperament.
"Someone threw her away like garbage, and yet there's a waiting list of people that want to have her in their home," Chance said. "We're really happy for her. And we're happy to see this outcome."
