A woman in Lithuania was driving through her small town last week when she noticed a dog. The dog was all alone and soaking wet, not to mention looking very scared and unhappy. When she got out of her car to take a closer look at the pathetic-looking pooch, she saw something absolutely heartbreaking. The little pup had an anchor around his neck.
It looked like someone had attempted to drown the poor puppy, but thanks to the kindness of a concerned citizen, he made it out of the river alive. His rescuer, Audra Petraškienė, says she began crying on the spot. What kind of monster would do this to a poor, defenseless creature?
“I was shocked. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry,” Audra told Bored Panda. “I realized I have to do something immediately.”
So she approached the dog very carefully...
"Who did this to you?" she asked.
"Apparently, somebody put a heavy metal item on his neck and dropped him in the river to drown," Audra's daughter, Andra, told The Dodo.
"The dog was scared and shaking from cold as well," Andra added.
Naturally, Audra took the mysterious pup home.
She posted the video of her discovery on Facebook in hopes that she'd figure out where this pup's owner was.
The video racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
Meanwhile, Audra removed the anchor from the dog's neck.
She also cleaned him up and took him to the vet to make sure he was okay.
Luckily, he was found to be in good health. Audra handed him over to a local animal shelter while she waited to see if his owners showed up.
Thanks to Audra's viral Facebook post, the shelter managed to reunite the dog with his owner.
“The owner seemed like a good person. I am sure that he loves the dog,” Audra said.
How the dog ended up in such a dangerous, cruel situation remains unknown, however. Audra reported the incident to local police, and they're still investigating.
As for the dog? He's safe and sound.
"He’s a real fighter," Andra said.
People are, understandably, horrified by this cruel act. The anchor around this dog's neck weighed over 13 pounds!
The shelter director said that, judging by the anchor, someone tried to end this dog's life "in the most extreme way."
It's unclear whether the owner of the dog could have prevented this from happening.
Hold your pups safe, everyone – you never know what could happen to them!
