A White Dog with Disability in Its Front Two Legs Abandoned Twice in the Same Day in São Leopoldo. First by Its Owner, Then by Its Owner’s Husband.
The Dog Shows Signs of Depression After Abandonment as the Municipality Seeks Adopters. The footage from a video, anonymously sent to the department head, Anderson Ribeiro, was recorded in front of a bus company in the Cristo Rei neighborhood, the location where the animal’s owner worked. The video, captured by a surveillance camera, shows a woman stopping with a car and opening the vehicle’s door, from which two dogs disembark. She puts one of the animals back in the car and leaves the white one outside, which tries to follow her. The woman then pushes the dog away, closes the door, and drives away. The small dog is disoriented, trying to sniff out its owner’s trail, and is seen walking around the area.
A person from Balneário Camboriú mentioned in a post that the dog’s name was Tintim and belonged to an employee of the bus company located in the Cristo Rei neighborhood. Unable to reach the man, the secretary found his wife’s address. At the location, the woman claimed that her husband abandoned the animal after a quarrel between the couple. However, the dog’s tutor’s colleagues at the company reported that there were actually two cases of abandonment.
The situation would have been difficult to prove if it were not for the anonymous footage from a surveillance camera that was sent on Friday (3), which proves the woman’s abandonment of the dog. With the evidence, Ribeiro filed a police report with the Civil Police Online Station and plans to file a complaint next week with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio Grande do Sul (MP/RS), in addition to proposing that the São Leopoldo Environmental Secretariat apply sanctions for animal abuse
Accompanying the video will be a report from a veterinarian’s examination conducted at Sempa headquarters, which indicates that Tintim was well-nourished and hydrated but presented abrasions on his chin and hind leg as well as a depressive state.
“It is common for abandoned animals to develop a depressive state. Sometimes they even stop eating and drinking,” commented the secretary.
To prevent the situation from worsening, Ribeiro is seeking adopters for Tintim. For now, the dog is being sheltered in the secretary’s office. Ten people have already expressed interest and will be interviewed on Monday (6). When an adopter is confirmed, Sempa will monitor the dog’s situation for 90 days, without revealing its new residence, to prevent the former owner from finding it. During that period, the department will also submit a request to the MP/RS for the revocation of ownership of the animal by its owner.
The couple showed up at the department’s headquarters on Friday and denied having abandoned the little dog, claiming that it ran away from home. The couple’s request to regain custody of the dog was denied by the secretary.
The Federal Law on Environmental Crimes provides for imprisonment from three months to one year and a fine for those who engage in acts of abuse, mistreatment, injury or mutilation of animals.
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