Puppy Mutilated, Thrown in Dumpster

Three-month-old 'Pongo' is now up for adoption

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for mutilating a puppy, cutting off his ears before abandoning him in a dumpster.

The spaniel-blend puppy – named “Pongo” – is now living at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Sante Fe, awaiting adoption.

Caregivers at the Helen Woodward Animal Center say Pongo is recovering from malnourishment and mutilation. Back in May, he was left for dead with his ears cut off inside a dumpster in Chula Vista along with his three canine siblings.

The puppies – who were no more than five weeks old at the time of their abandonment – were left behind in a closed cardboard box.

Over the past three months, all four pups have been nursed back to health and placed into foster care. Pongo is the first of the siblings to pass medical approval and become officially eligible for adoption.

Meanwhile, the Helen Woodward Animal Center still hopes to track down the person responsible for the mistreatment of the dogs. The center is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest in the case.

Anyone with information should contact Rita Truderung at (858) 756-4117, ext. 303, or via email at ritat@animalcenter.org.

Lizbeth Luna, a Helen Woodward Animal Center transfer partner who works with Animal Advocates of the United States, says she’s never seen a case quite like the one involving Pongo.

Luna believes Pongo and his siblings may have been the product of inexperienced breeders who didn’t exactly get the results they wanted. Luna says the breeders may have attempted an ear removal process called “cropping” in order to make the puppies cuter and more valuable.

Luna suspects that when the breeders realized the process was crudely executed, they simply decided to throw the puppies away.

Luckily, Pongo and his siblings survived and are now ready to begin new lives under the care of loving pet parents.

Those interested in adopting Pongo can contact the Adoptions Department at (858) 756-4117, ext. 1 or visit this website.

“There is a better world out there for this sweet puppy and we can’t wait for him to experience it,” said Helen Woodward Animal Center President and CEO Mike Arms.

Pongo’s siblings are expected to become available for adoption as well, in the coming weeks.

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