NEED TO KNOW
- Authorities are still searching for a man who abandoned his dog in rural Georgia
- Apollo, a mixed-breed dog, was left on the side of the road alone
- Luck’s Rescue Center found Apollo and gave him medical attention, and he is now up for adoption
Authorities are searching for a man who abandoned his dog after he lured his pet outside under the guise of going for a walk.
The mixed-breed dog, named Apollo, was found on the side of the road on Old State Road in Menlo, Ga., local ABC affiliate News 9 reported. Audray Luck of Luck’s Rescue Center found the dog alone and injured, bearing signs that it may have been hit by a car.
“I don’t know why his owner would abandon him on the side of the road,” Luck told the outlet on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Luck continued, “There are cars that are zooming by and whizzing by. So when someone goes to abandon a dog like that, their chances of survival are very low.”
Dade County, Ga., lacks an animal shelter, leaving rescue efforts up to locals. Luck’s Rescue is a a 501c3 nonprofit organization, according to Newsweek.
“It took me 48 hours to locate him. and then another couple hours to gain his trust,” Luck told Newsweek. “He was very scared when I found him and had a slight limp. He had an open wound on his back, possibly from a wild animal attacking him or another dog, and the pads on his paws were peeling from running on the hot road.”
Luck shared CCTV footage of Apollo being abandoned on social media, bringing viral attention to the issue. The footage shows an older man wearing a t-shirt and cargo shorts, exiting his vehicle with Apollo, only to leave Apollo on the side of the wooded road and drive off.
“For the last 48 hours since he was dumped like someone’s trash I have been looking for him tirelessly. Today I got the tip I needed and rushed up there. It took me just over a hour to gain his trust but once I did I watched all the fear melt away out of his big brown eyes,” the social media caption began.
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“Shame on the man who abandoned him. We will find you,” Luck warned.
Luck continued to warn that there is “a much larger problem going on here” when it comes to pets being abandoned in rural areas of the Southern U.S. Luck called out the man for abandoning his dog, reminding pet owners that abandonment is illegal.
Apollo is now available for adoption, per Luck’s Rescue.
PEOPLE has reached out to Luck’s Rescue for comment.
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