A dog was found abandoned and chained to a tree along a wooded bike path in Amsterdam, N.Y., after a passerby heard barking and went to investigate.
On Dec. 1, a man walking his own dog thought he heard another dog in the woods. When he followed the sound, he discovered a white pit bull mix tethered to a tree with a short metal chain near the path, according to the Amsterdam Police Department. Authorities said the dog had been left out in freezing conditions and warned that, without the man’s intervention, the animal could have died from exposure.
Police later shared video on social media showing the dog barking while crouched low, clearly frightened as someone approaches. Officers responded to the area, used bolt cutters to remove the chain and brought the pit bull to the SPCA for care.
The New York State Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for “any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible” for abandoning the dog. Police said whoever is responsible could face felony charges.
In a statement, the police department urged the public to act quickly when they see an animal in danger, emphasizing that anyone who spots a dog tied outside in severe weather — especially somewhere it doesn’t belong — should contact local law enforcement immediately.
Cases like this, officials noted, are not isolated. Two weeks earlier, a pit bull mix named Binny was found tied up inside a zipped suitcase that had been discarded in a dumpster in Everett, Wash.
“There was rope around her, she was tied into a suitcase, and that suitcase had been dumped into a dumpster,” Everett Police Officer CJ Hawley told KOMO News, adding that the luggage had been zipped completely shut.
Binny was “throwing up blood, had abrasions around her neck, and had just given birth to puppies” when rescuers first found her. Since then, Leslie Wall, assistant manager at EAS, has told KOMO News that Binny’s condition — and spirit — have improved, with the dog now running around the shelter and greeting people with visible excitement.
“She’s a great dog because she meets new people with excitement and enjoyment,” Wall said. “Which is something we don’t see a lot of times with dogs that have had this kind of history.”
