Look what they find in the box! (Video)

A couple from El Monte, California, found something scary on the side of the road. There was a cardboard box with a plastic garbage bag tied tightly around it — and it was moving. “They live across the street from a church, and the box was just sitting on the curb in front of the church,” said Piper Wood, founder of Hand in Paw, a California rescue group. “It was unusual for garbage to be out there. They had noticed it yesterday, but they hadn’t noticed any movement. And then, they saw that the bag part of it was moving.” The couple, Gloria and Guillermo Reyes, went to have a closer look, and they saw a dog’s snout poking through a hole in the cardboard, and trying to chew through the plastic.

They immediately ripped open the box, and found a scared, weak golden retriever puppy inside. “They were shocked,” Wood said. “It’s hard to comprehend how someone can consciously take a puppy and leave it to die intentionally like that.” The Reyeses contacted the association Hand in Paw and asked for their help. They took the puppy right away to the vet. At first, they were primarily concerned that the puppy, who’s about 8 weeks old, would have suffered from oxygen deprivation inside the box, especially since he’d been in there for at least 24 hours. While the puppy did seem feeble and sluggish, which could be the result of oxygen deprivation, the vet also discovered something else — the puppy had parvovirus, a disease that attacks and breaks down a dog’s intestinal linings. Left untreated, parvo can be deadly — but fortunately, the puppy was now getting the help he needed.

It’s hard to comprehend!

“He’s very lethargic right now … but he does wag his tail and gives kisses. You can tell that he’s going to be a really great dog, but he’s just not feeling well right now.” said Wood. They suspect that the puppy, now named Dexter, belonged to a backyard breeder. But when Dexter got sick, the breeder probably abandoned him instead of taking him to the vet. “We see it all the time. As soon as those dogs show any sign of illness, they get immediately tossed out. This is just very disturbing but we already have hundreds of adoption offers for him. He’s a golden retriever, so he’s adorable.” said Wood. Watch the video, you will melt with this precious puppy. It’s a terrible story that, thankfully, ends well.