BARTLETT, Tenn. — The City of Bartlett Animal Shelter needs your help finding a new home for a dog that was left alone at a dog park over the weekend.
The heart-wrenching moment was caught on video as the couple turned their backs and walked away.
Meet Buddy. He’s a 1-year-old pit mix and a loveable dog. He’s also the City of Bartlett Animal Shelter’s newest resident.
“He seems really sweet and happy. He’s doing okay in our kennels right now,” said Angela Klein, Division Manager of the City of Bartlett Animal Shelter.
The last few days haven’t been kind to Buddy after surveillance video caught two people leading him into the dog park next to the shelter just before 9 p.m. Saturday and leaving him.
“You can see it throughout the video, the dog walks into the dog park and is like “okay great,” and then when they first turn around to leave, he looks up, but, ‘Okay I’m going to keep playing. They’re not going to leave me,'” Klein said.
The video went on to show Buddy frantic as he was left behind.
“The minute he figures out, ‘they’re leaving me,’ he’s running towards the gate trying to get their attention. He wants to go with them, he doesn’t want to stay. He’s confused,” Klein said.
Buddy spent the entire cold rainy night in the park alone. It wasn’t until almost 24 hours later the shelter noticed he was in there unattended, and checked their cameras.
Klein said this happens at least five times a month and reminds people it is dangerous and illegal.
“This is a public dog park, and it’s a very large dog park. And if there’s an animal in here that is unknown and there’s no one here to handle the dog or call the dog back, you could have people hurt, animals hurt, children hurt,” she said.
She wants people to know if they need help taking care of their dogs there are grants and animal food banks. If they need to surrender their pets, there are ways to make sure it’s done safely.
“It’s frustrating because there are options. All people have to do is be responsible and take a minute of their time to figure it out,” Klein said.
If you want to give Buddy a second chance, he is expected to be up for adoption by Thursday.
If you recognize the people in the video, you are asked to contact the Bartlett Animal Shelter.
