MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Before loading the dumpster onto a garbage truck behind the Speedway gas station on State Road 64 in Lakewood Ranch Monday, a Waste Management worker saw two little ears.
- Puppy was found in dumpster
- Their act of kindness went viral
- Abandoning an animal is a first-degree misdemeanor
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“It was just a little pup. A little pit bull, very beautiful. She wasn’t barking, crying, nothing,” said Danny Cormier, an employee with Waste Management.
“I kept inching up and looking, so I could see over,” added Cormier’s colleague Ahriel Jones. “I was like, that looks like a puppy there, it’s not very big!”
While Cormier and Jones have been working with Waste Management for years, it was their first time working together and on this route that touched the Lakewood Ranch area.
Cormier snapped a photo while Jones helped pull the 6-month-old gray pit bull mix from the dumpster.
They brought her inside and gave her food and water.
“Everything happened so fast. I felt bad for the little girl being in there. I was just grateful that we saw her popping out before we emptied the dumpster out. She should have ended up in the truck, crushed,” Cormier said.
Their act of kindness went viral and was shared thousands of times on Facebook.
The puppy was not microchipped and is now in the care of Manatee County Animal Services.
“I wish I could take her home, but I don’t have a big enough home for her or a big yard for her. If I did, she would come home,” Cormier said.
Officials say abandoning an animal is a crime and the person responsible could be found guilty of a fatal first-degree misdemeanor.
If you have any information regarding this case, please call MCAS at 941-742-5933.