PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — One dog has died, and another is severely injured after being abandoned behind a business at a Largo mall on Wednesday evening.
Local animal group Rags to Riches Rescue reported that the dogs were dumped from a rented U-Haul around 6:40 p.m. They claim the driver covered the vehicle’s license plate to avoid identification.
Zayda, a witness, quickly tried to contain the dogs with assistance from nearby individuals. The group searched for the animals for several hours but ultimately lost sight of them and stopped efforts near midnight.
The rescue team later found out that a gray female dog named Pear had been hit and killed by a car on the night she was abandoned. Her body was transported to a nearby emergency room before the search team was able to find her.
The next day, the second dog, Apple, was seen at a trailer park. When Rags to Riches Rescue members arrived to pick him up, they said a park manager was unhelpful. The commotion and confrontation that followed reportedly frightened Apple, and he ran into the street.
Apple was hit by a silver minivan that fled the scene. Bre, a rescue team member, stepped into the road to cover the dog’s body while calling for help from bystanders. Apple was then taken to the same emergency room that had treated Pear.
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