LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It was a horrible discovery of animal neglect. A dog was found dead on the side of the road in the east Las Vegas valley, trapped inside its kennel.
“It makes me angry, and I will never understand why people let this happen," said Dominika Halgasova, a volunteer with the Vegas Pet Rescue Project.
Halgasova is furious after the dog's body was discovered on the side of the road, off of Judson Avenue and Marion Drive in Sunrise Manor.
The actual picture of the shar-pei, still inside its kennel, was too upsetting to show in our report.
“I knew it was in bad shape from the picture, but I didn’t expect it to be just dumped here, dead, you know,” she said.
Halgasova says the dog appeared starved and malnourished before it died. She says the rescue project has noticed a trend.
“Within the past year, we’ve had a lot of starved shar-peis found on this side of the city," she said.
Clark County Animal Control confirms there is an open case on the death of the dog, and the investigation remains ongoing. Halgasova says she arrived as an officer picked up the kennel. With empty dirt lots and discarded furniture in the area, she’s not surprised someone would leave a dog there.
“A desert area. No surveillance cameras around. It’s convenient to dump a dog in the desert like this, and it’s never right to do that,” she said.
Veterinarian Dr. Ken Sieranski of Hearts Alive Village has seen many abandoned pets pass through his office. He says while some cases involved outright abuse, others involve pet owners not having access to adequate pet care.
“They may be going through really difficult times themselves and not be aware of the options they have in the community,” he said.
Halgasova says pets can be surrendered to area shelters or rescues, so they can be taken care of rather than abandoned.
“They don’t need to be dumped in the desert,” she said.
Hearts Alive Village is offering discounted vet care and also has a pet food bank for people struggling to feed their pets. Find more information on the organization's website here.
