JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Staff at Arlington Animal Clinic said a dog abandoned outside their building survived nearly 36 hours tied to a pipe in the Florida heat, and they’re now hoping the people responsible are identified and held accountable.
Security camera footage captured a couple arriving at the clinic after business hours Saturday and tying the dog to a water pipe outside the building before driving away.
When employees returned Monday morning, they found the dog, dehydrated but alive.
“That’s where we found him, trying to cool off, I’m sure,” a staff member said while pointing to the spot where the dog had dug a hole to stay cool.
Veterinary technician Mandy Holden said the clinic staff quickly fell in love with the dog, whom they named Ralph.
“I came into work the following day and he was here and I fell in love with his soulful eyes,” Holden said. “I said, ‘OK, well, I’ll take him home.’”
Holden is now fostering Ralph while he waits for a permanent home.
She said the dog endured dangerous conditions after being left outside from about 7 p.m. Saturday until approximately 7:30 a.m. Monday.
“He was left outside in the hot baking sun,” Holden said. “If you can imagine, I go outside for 30 minutes and I’m dripping sweat, much less 30 hours. And with dogs not being able to sweat, they can only pant, he’s lucky to be alive.”
Dr. Mike Deutsch, a veterinarian at Arlington Animal Clinic, said abandoning an animal is never the answer.
“These are living creatures, and they deserve better than to be left tied out,” Deutsch said.
He said the owners could have sought help instead of abandoning the dog.
“We have shelters. We have contacts,” Deutsch said. “If they had just come earlier Saturday, they could have talked to us and we could have found somebody who could have given him a home rather than just leaving him in the sun for a day and a half, no food and no water.”
Deutsch said he hopes whoever abandoned Ralph is prosecuted.
“I’d like them to be prosecuted,” he said.
Despite his ordeal, Ralph has quickly won over the clinic staff with his gentle personality.
“He’s a great, great, great dog,” Holden said. “You can tell just looking at him. He has been through some stuff.”
As Ralph recovers, Holden said she’s focused on making sure the dog has a much brighter future than his past.
“You’re going to have the best life ever now,” she told him.