With all the resources available to people who are no longer able to look after their animals, it is surprising that animals are still found unwanted and abandoned. Earlier this month, an older pit bull got another shot at the good life when she was found left on the side of the road to fend for herself. With her belongings, including a pink doghouse and her leash, she had been abandoned on the side of the road. While the doghouse could be seen as an attempt to provide some kind of shelter, it was evident that her former owner did not care about her future as the house was thrown into a ditch and the dog still had her leash attached.

A passerby noticed the bright pink doghouse and stopped to take a look, which led to the 9-year-old dog being picked up by an animal control officer and taken to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.

“Field Services Friday!” the shelter shared on social media on Feb. 15. “Our officers are investigating a case of dog abandonment after a person or persons left a dog in it’s dog house on the side of the road in Watsonville.”

“Thankfully, a concerned citizen called our dispatcher and we were able to rescue the dog.”

Many rescues charge a surrender fee, which — unfortunately — deters people from relinquishing them, as they’d rather dump them and not pay the fee.

“The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is an Open Door Admission Shelter and we take in any animal free of charge without questions asked,” the post continued. “Abandoning an animal is a crime and can cause unnecessary suffering to the animal. If you have an animal you no longer want please surrender him or her to the Shelter.”

It turned out that the dog was microchipped, and the shelter was able to identify the pup’s former owner. They also learned that her name was “Pebbles.”

“Officer Padilla formally cited Ruben Guerrero of Watsonville today with one count of violation of California State Penal Code 597s ‘Willful Abandonment of an Animal’ for leaving his dog Pebbles on the side of the road with her doghouse,” the shelter explained in an update post.

https://www.facebook.com/scanimalshelter/photos/a.123025621102856/2473427026062692/?type=3

“Pebbles had a microchip that came back to a male subject living in Watsonville whom animal control was familiar with from previous contacts. It took several days to track down the subject, as he had been living homeless for the past year.”

“Through persistence and community outreach, Officer Padilla was able to contact the male subject, and discovered he had given Pebbles to Ruben Guerrero approximately one year ago when he became homeless.”

“Officer Padilla made contact with Ruben Guerrero on February 21, 2019 and was able to confirm that he had left Pebbles on the side of the road with her doghouse. Officer Padilla formally cited Guerrero today.”

Pebbles is now looking for a new home, and we hope that she’ll find a place to belong and a loving family who won’t toss her out like garbage