Chewie the dog was found tied to a rubbish bin on SH1 Waikouaiti-Waitati Rd near Seacliff. Photo / Supplied
Chewie the dog was found tied to a rubbish bin on SH1 Waikouaiti-Waitati Rd near Seacliff. Photo / Supplied
The SPCA are seeking answers after a small dog was found abandoned at a SH1 rest area, tied to a rubbish bin.
It's not known how long the border terrier cross, Chewie, was left without shelter and apparently without food or water on Waikouaiti-Waitati Rd, near Seacliff.
"The dog isjust left out in the open, exposed to all the elements, no way of getting away from anything that might happen to it," said inspector Sophia Tinirau.
If the dog's rescuer hadn't happened to pull into the "pretty remote" rest area, it's not clear what would have happened to her.
"If no one finds them, it's giving them a death sentence," Tinirau said.
Chewie was tied to the bin with a red cable, and while there is no way of knowing how long she was there for, she was bright and alert when found, suggesting she may have been left the same day.
The member of the public who found her took her into the SPCA Dunedin centre.
Abandoning an animal is a criminal offence under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, Tinirau said.
