Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Driver tosses dog from SUV and takes off
Lisa Gabrielle wasn’t sure why an SUV ahead of her slowed down to about 5 mph. But then a door swung open and a dog hit the ground.
The dog briefly chased after the black SUV, but the driver never stopped, she said.
It happened about 4 p.m. Saturday on Camino Real in Boca Raton as Gabrielle was heading home from Florida Atlantic University, where she is a student.
“I was mad, kind of heartbroken to see a dog on the side of the road running,” Gabrielle said.
She put the dog, whom she named Buster, into her car and took him home. Already having a dog and several other pets, she took the 1-year-old Dalmatian to the Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton the next day.
Suzi Goldsmith, the animal rescue’s executive director, said Buster didn’t land on all four legs and could have broken his pelvis, but a trip to the vet Monday showed no injuries.
“This dog is perfect, well behaved, sweet, likes to put his head on your shoulder. He doesn’t have a bad quality. That’s what’s so bizarre about this,”
Goldsmith said.
The dog’s weight was concerning, though. The 42-pound Dalmatian is about 23 pounds underweight.
“He was so pathetically thin,” Goldsmith said. “As soon as he came in, we had every kind of food out. You name it, we had it out. It looked like a smorgasbord.”
Buster devoured four hot dogs and other foods and water, and Goldsmith hopes he will get back to a healthy weight.
Gabrielle doesn’t know who pushed the dog out — the owner or someone who had stolen him — but she said she hopes that person realizes what they did was wrong.
“He’s got such a great personality for a dog that went through such a traumatic experience,” she said. “All he wanted to do is be cuddled and hugged. He just wanted to be loved.”
Goldsmith also hopes news coverage will turn up the person who got rid of the dog in such a dangerous manner so they can be prosecuted.
Buster will remain at the shelter for at least five days. After that, he might be put up for adoption.
The incident is the second time since January that an abandonded dog made headlines.
On Jan. 18, a girl threw BJ, an 8-year-old Jack Russell terrier mix, off a 50-feet bridge at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach.
BJ escaped serious injuries, partly due to being overweight, Palm Beach Animal Care and Control spokesman Capt. David Walesky said. That girl was later taken by Palm Beach Sheriff ’s deputies for a mental health evaluation.
Goldsmith said her shelter is closed Mondays and Wednesdays, but anyone with questions about adopting Buster or other dogs and cats can call 561-482-8110.