Lansford police, county animal officer looking for clues on who dumped a dog

Lansford Police are asking the public for help in identifying the person who abandoned a dog in the borough Monday night.

Chief Jack Soberick said the department is asking anyone who may have surveillance footage from around 9 p.m. on Monday in the area of East Abbott Street to get in contact with police to assist with the investigation.

“It would be such a great help if somebody has some type of video of that vehicle or any vehicles that are in that area at the time,” Soberick said.

The dog is white with brown spots and showed signs of neglect. Shelter workers are calling her “Baby Girl.” There were no clues about who her owner might be, only a pink collar. The dog is currently being housed at the Carbon County Animal Shelter.

Lansford Police were notified via 911 that someone had pulled into a parking space and dropped off a dog. Soberick said they haven’t been able to get in touch with the caller.

“We just know it was definitely let out of the car intentionally. This was not an accident, this was intentional dumping of the dog,” he said.

According to animal rescue workers, the dog is 6 months old. When it first arrived at the Carbon County Animal Shelter, the dog had visible ribs. There do not appear to be any other medical issues.

“It’s pretty fortunate it wasn’t hurt, but it was definitely neglected as far as the feeding issue,” said Tom Connors, shelter director.

Connors said he has gotten numerous calls about the dog. One person said they may know who the owner is — so Connors turned that information over to police.

There have been offers to pay for the dog’s medical care, and other callers who are just outraged about another abandoned dog in the county. Connors says he’s gracious for the donations, and he’s also asked people to support Lehighton Animal Hospital, where he takes the shelter dogs for treatment.

“A lot of people are just outraged that this keeps happening,” he said.

Connors said the problem is not unique to Lansford. He has dealt with several dogs abandoned in homes in the past few weeks after their owners were evicted.

He said abandoned dogs often cause his shelter to be over capacity — and makes it harder for them to fulfill their primary mission — to shelter dogs that are lost from their owners, or have owners who have died.

He said he doesn’t see the problem getting any better because the penalties aren’t enough to deter them. Connors said there are other cases where he’s been told exactly where the owner lives, but for some reason charges were never filed.

“It needs to be enforced. Until somebody has to pay a price, nobody’s going to be afraid to keep doing it,” Connors said.

Soberick said that a dog is a long-term commitment, like a child. And it’s dependent on its owner for everything — safety, shelter, food and medical treatment. While some people get to the point where they have to give up their dog, there are smarter ways to do it.

“There are alternatives to mistreating and abandoning a dog because you can’t care for it anymore,” Soberick said.

Soberick said if the person is located, they will be charged with the appropriate animal cruelty charges.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lansford Police at 570-645-5844.

If you would like to make a donation to help the dog, contact Carbon County Animal Shelter at 570-325-4828 or Lehighton Animal Hospital at 610-377-5574.