Dog left in trash can, almost crushed by compactor Edmonton, AB (CA) Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007 Disposition: Open Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Case ID: 11299 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in AB (CA) Login to Watch this Case

A garbage collector received a shock when he lifted the bags from a trash can Wednesday morning and found a Yorkshire terrier that had been thrown out with the garbage.

When Barry Nismondi found the two-kilogram dog, it was covered in feces, garbage and urine, and one eye was swollen shut.

Nismondi, who works for the garbage contractor Waste Services Inc., said the dog was saved by the fact that bags in the can were heavy, so he picked them up individually.

"I usually take the can and dump it. It's a good thing I didn't. Otherwise it would have ended up in the hopper and the packer is going all the time, so she would have been crushed."

Nismondi said the sight of the dog bothered him all day, especially when he thought of his own dog, a Lhasa Apso called Scooter.

After getting the call about the dog on his radio, Nismondi's supervisor drove to the site behind a duplex at 12927 126th St.

"I felt horrible," said Kahn Hicks, who owns a black Labrador. "My stomach kind of turned. I don't know how people can do something like that."

Hicks said he's heard horror stories in the industry about abandoned pets, but had never seen one.

He immediately called the Edmonton Humane Society, but it had not yet opened for the day. He brought the dog to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic, where it was examined.

Diane Shannon, communications co-ordinator for the Humane Society, said the Yorkie had no serious injuries.

"Lots of miracles were happening for this little girl," Shannon said.

The dog was given a bath and treated with antibiotics and painkillers. It was wearing a harness but had no identifying tags or tattoos, she said.

Animal protection officers were contacting residents near where the dog was found. They don't know where the dog lived, and say it's possible it wasn't the owners who dumped the Yorkie.

"We're hopeful there will be a happy ending for her, and for us it would be a happy ending if we could find out who did this horrible thing," Shannon said.

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References

Edmonton Journal - April 19, 2007

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