Couple saves abandoned dog after it was thrown over fence of their business lot
By Karen Brainard
Update, Wednesday, Sept. 24
—According to the county, Dolly, a pit bull puppy found abandoned in a fenced-in Ramona business lot, was adopted Tuesday morning by a Poway man.
Original story
—Getting behind in paperwork may have saved a dog’s life.
When Karen Tavares, vice president of Investigative Science and Engineering Inc. in Ramona, worked on Friday, Aug. 29, to catch up on paperwork, just before she left she found a puppy limping in the locked fenced-in area around the business on D Street.
“I wouldn’t have even been in the office that day,” she said, noting it was the start of Labor Day weekend.
Tavares was puzzled how the dog got there and how long it had been there. When her husband, Rick Tavares, founding principal of the company, reviewed surveillance video, they found that around 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, a man threw the young pit bull over the gate into the fenced-in area behind the commercial building.
Tavares said that in the video the dog appears to land on its back and wondered if that was why she was limping.
The couple contacted San Diego County Animal Services and hung out with their children that evening at their business until an animal control officer could pick up the dog.
“She was really friendly,” said Tavares. “That’s part of what was so appalling...this wasn’t a mean dog. I never in a million years would expect someone to throw a pit bull over the fence.”
In the video, the man, dressed in a red T-shirt with an Adidas logo and possibly dark red pants, appears to come from the alley area and look all around before tossing the dog over the fence, said Tavares.
According to animal services, its veterinary staff did not find any injuries on the 6-month-old puppy, who became available for adoption on Tuesday.
The black and white dog has been named Dolly, and animal services said she weighs about 28 pounds, is eating well and likes plenty of attention. She has been spayed and is at the animal services shelter in Carlsbad.
“I am pleased to hear from the county she is OK,” said Tavares.
She noted the dog had been in the fenced-in area without water for about 24 hours before being discovered and three more days would have passed before the office opened again since it was a holiday weekend.
“The fact that someone would take such a sweet dog and abandon it by throwing it over a fence is unconscionable,” said Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa in a news release. “The Department of Animal Services would like to speak to the man in this video to ask him why he did such an act.”
Animal services is asking for help identifying the man in the video. Anyone with information is asked to contact Animal Services at 760- 966-3224 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
If the department can identify the suspect in this case, he may face misdemeanor charges of animal abandonment and/or animal cruelty.