Dog dumped in bag on frigid night learns to trust again: ‘You’re safe’
The dog was zipped into a duffel bag and abandoned in a park on New York’s Staten Island on this frigid New Year’s Eve. His bed and a tennis ball were in the bag, too.
He would have certainly died there, like other animals left outside in these unforgiving temperatures, had he not been found and saved by a committed team of animal rescuers. These people were not willing to let the small and vulnerable creature perish in such a horrible way.
Now that he’s safe, the dog has a big name: Thor. Doreen Murphy, Thor’s foster mom — one of those who helped get him to safety — gave him the name because it represents strength.
And also because it’s a “pun on thaw,” Murphy told TODAY. “Like he was thawing out.”
It began at just about 2 p.m. on Sunday. Melissa Chapman was about to drive her kids to a New Year’s Eve party when she got a disturbing text: Someone had found a dog zipped inside a duffel bag.
The person heard the dog barking, and unzipped the bag to try to save him. But the dog ran off and the individual couldn’t get him back.
Chapman, a fixture in New York City’s animal rescue world and editor of the blog The Staten Island Family, reached out for help. A team of rescuers sprung into action, armed just with a crude map drawn by the person who’d discovered the dog, and the commitment to find him.
“All these people were not apathetic at all and were determined to get this poor discarded pup to safety,” said Chapman.
Millie Acosta, with the group Fur Friends in Need, is one of the five rescuers who set out that afternoon.
It took about an hour to find the dog. He was clearly scared and mistrustful, and snapped at the rescuers. It took another hour and a half or so of coaxing and hamburgers before he’d come near.
“He was at Allison Pond in Staten Island. His duffel bag, ball and bed had been placed by a high brick wall out of the path of people. His chances of being found would have been slim,” Acosta told TODAY. “Where he was dumped there were no cameras — houses around but no one saw anything.”
Once he was finally willing to come close, Murphy, who also volunteers with Fur Friends in Need, lifted Thor off the ground. She wrapped the dog in several blankets and carried him out of the woods and into her car.
“No sooner than I picked him, he relaxed,” she said. “He licked my face.”
Thor slept on Murphy’s lap the entire way to the veterinarian.
“He felt safe, I guess,” she said.
The vet said Thor is probably 6 or 7 years old. His heart and lungs seem good. His eyes and hind legs are not in as good condition, but they may get better with care and time — and if not, then with medical attention.
Good News: Inspirational, Hopeful and Uplifting News Stories – TODAY.com