A Portland woman has admitted to authorities that she abandoned her senior dog at a Vancouver park after she couldn’t keep him and didn’t know what else to do with him.
She abandoned the Yellow Labrador Retriever, named Henry, at the park by tricking him into thinking they were going for a walk, and the entire incident was caught on a nearby home surveillance camera.
KOIN6/Youtube
The video shows the woman pull up to Orchards Community Park in a Tesla around 8:20 on Thursday night.
She got out of the driver’s seat and let the dog out of the back seat. She then took the collar and leash off the dog and got back into the car to drive off.
Suddenly, she got back out of the car to walk the dog into the woods. The dog wagged his tail and thought he was going for a walk, but once they got to the wooded area, the woman left him there and ran back to her car to drive away.
KOIN6/Youtube
Surveillance footage then shows the dog walking back out of the woods to look for his owner, but she had already driven off.
Alyssa Ott, the owner of the surveillance camera, couldn’t believe her eyes when she watched the video.
She immediately called a friend to help bring the dog in and contacted I Paw’d It Forward, a nearby dog rescue, for help.
Keri-Lyn Jakubs, founder of the rescue, agreed to take the pooch in and picked him up right away.
He was then transferred to the Southwest Washington Humane Society while Clark County Animal Protection and Control carried out an investigation.
Humane Society for Southwest Washington/Facebook
Thanks to tips from the public, authorities were able to track down Henry’s owner: 63-year-old Maria Bruce.
Bruce agreed to come in, and told officials the she couldn’t keep Henry and didn’t know what else to do beside leave him behind at the park.
Under Clark County law, abandonment is a type of animal cruelty, but Bruce has since signed a Confession of Judgement in lieu of criminal charges.
As her punishment, she will pay fines, reimburse the county for Henry’s care, and she will not be allowed to own any dogs for two years.
As for Henry, he has been living with a loving foster family and is doing great. He will soon be moving on to his new forever family!
H/T to Koin6.
