It was getting late, and most people were easing into the end of the day, wrapping up the last little things before calling it a night.
Carla Stowe was expecting a quiet, easy evening at home. But calm nights have a way of changing without warning.
This one definitely did.
While she went through her usual routine, Carla noticed her dogs acting in a way she couldn’t brush off. They were restless, not listening, and kept trying to steer her toward the backyard. The urgency felt purposeful, like they were insisting she needed to see something right now.
The moment she realized something was off, she opened the back door and followed them out into the dark.
What she found in the yard stopped her cold. There was something out there that absolutely did not belong.
A Strange Discovery In The Dark
As Carla swept her flashlight across the grass, she immediately sensed that something was out of place.
A yellow crate sat in the middle of the yard. She had never seen it before. It wasn’t hers, and no one had asked to leave anything behind.
Carla, who serves as president of Baby Gunn’s Animal Rescue, had faced countless tough situations, yet approaching this crate filled her with unease. Something about this moment felt heavier than usual.
From inside the crate came faint noises and a steady tapping sound. She couldn’t see the source, but she recognized the sound of movement. When her light passed over the box again, she caught sight of two sad eyes peeking through narrow openings in the duct tape wrapped tightly around it.
A dog was trapped inside.
“His head was down, but I could hear the constant thumping of his tail,” Stowe recalled.
Carla immediately tore through the layers of duct tape and zip ties that sealed the crate shut. The moment it opened, a dog stepped cautiously into the yard.
“When I realized it was a Pitbull, my heart sank,” Stowe said.
What shocked Carla was not only that someone had dumped a dog at her home. It was the cruel way they had done it, leaving him confined in a sealed crate with no way out.
That kind of treatment toward a vulnerable animal was almost unthinkable.
The only relief in this awful situation was that the dog had been left where he had a chance at help. If he had been abandoned in a remote area or at a home where people disliked animals, his fate might have been far worse.
The black-and-white Pitbull was named RD, and Carla brought him straight to Baby Gunn’s Animal Rescue in Paris, Texas.
Finding Safety After Fear
At the rescue, RD slowly began to relax. As days passed, he grew more comfortable with staff members and the other animals in the facility.
Carla believes the right family will come along when the time is right, a home where RD will be appreciated and cared for.
According to data from WAF, Pitbulls remain among the most at-risk breeds. PETA has even reported that they face more mistreatment worldwide than any other type of dog. WAF further notes that one in four Americans admits to having a negative opinion of Pitbulls.
It is a harsh reality.
But each rescue brings a bit of hope. And someday, with more understanding and compassion, stories like RD’s may no longer be so common.