It turned out to be a tiny dog, just recognisable as a Chihuahua, tottering about beside a cardboard box. Yep, it had been dumped - but inside the box there was a blanket and food, and the box had had holes made in it for ventilation. But the poor dog - dribbled with diarrhoea - was all skin and bone, the spine and ribs sticking right out, no sign of any stomach, and nails about 2cm long - far longer than the tiny paws.
So straight off to the Vet with this one. No question, do the full Monty. Its temperature was too low to register on the normal pet thermometers (turned out to be a shade over 91F when it had warmed up a bit) - a neutered male, probably middle-aged, suffering from long-term starvation. Ours not to reason why it got like that, or who dumped it - we can never know the circumstances, but it seems a sad thing to do when there is always the night-time 'no questions asked' drop-off for unwanted animals available around here.
It must have been dumped just minutes before we got there - the weather has been wet here over the last day, and the box was dry, even the bottom of it sitting on damp tarmac. So it was serendipity that the cat mentioned above had to be taken in and we were there to rescue this tiny thing.
If this dog had got wet (very short hair) and stayed out one night, it would surely have succumbed to the cold.
Now newly-named 'Frosty' he seems much more alert as he's warming up and getting re-hydrated - seems to have a really sweet nature. He's staying in overnight, but then we'll be looking after him at home until well enough to be put up for adoption.
Anyone want a small dog for
⚠️ Last edited by jimc on UTC; edited 1 time