After a night of intense thunderstorms swept through San Antonio, staff members at SA Animal Care Services arrived early the next morning to begin their day.
As they entered the parking lot, something unusual caught their attention. A green tarp, soaked from the rain, had been placed mysteriously near the entrance. Concerned, they approached the tarp to investigate.
When they lifted the drenched covering, their hearts sank. Beneath it, six terrified eyes stared back at them, filled with confusion and fear.
Three Dogs Found Caged And Left In The Rain
Underneath the tarp, two German Shepherds and one small Chihuahua had been left behind in cages, exposed to the elements.
The three dogs had been abandoned during the storm, left to endure the cold rain and frightening thunder without shelter or comfort.
Lisa Norwood, public relations manager for the City of San Antonio Animal Care Services spoke to The Dodo about the discovery.
“Anytime something like this happens, we’re sad and a little frustrated. We had been experiencing a spate of strong thunderstorms, and I can only imagine their fear with the traffic going by coupled with the heavy rain and thunder.”
Once the team realized what was beneath the tarp, they immediately called for assistance and brought the soaked, shivering dogs into the shelter.
The dogs were moved to a warm, dry area and provided with food and water. The German Shepherds were named Peaches and Cyrus. The Chihuahua was given the name Gabby.
Trauma And Adjustment Inside The Shelter
Norwood told The Dodo, “Both Peaches and Gabby seemed a little more calm and were easier to handle. Cyrus was very frightened by the whole experience and took some time to warm up to everybody.”
Cyrus had clearly been deeply affected by the abandonment and needed extra time and care to begin feeling safe.
San Antonio continues to face a growing crisis with stray and abandoned animals, and shelters are often filled beyond capacity.
On their Instagram page, the shelter posted:
“Innocent pups abandoned under a tarp in the rain… roaming pets terrorizing neighborhood children… shelter kennels filled to the brim with unwanted pets… This is just a taste of what Animal Care Services’ struggles with day after day. This is the reality of our municipal animal shelter.”
With limited space and rising intake numbers, the staff knew they couldn’t keep the dogs at the shelter for long.
Fortunately, Peaches and Gabby were adopted quickly, finding homes where they could begin new lives.
Cyrus, who needed more time to recover emotionally, was transferred to the German Shepherd Rescue of NY, Inc, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving German Shepherds from euthanasia lists.
According to a post on the GSRNY’s Facebook page, Cyrus was adopted not long after his transfer.
All three dogs eventually found loving families.
Their days of fear and abandonment are behind them, and we hope they will never face such hardship again.