Dog left tied to Wisconsin shelter door in the freezing cold

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WMTV/WEAU) – The video is heartbreaking. A vehicle pulls into the Eau Claire Co. Humane Association parking lot early Thursday morning. An individual hops out and, with a dog in tow, walks up to the still unopened shelter door. The person then proceeds to tie the dog’s leash to the door before heading back to the truck to drive off.

The dog, who is now named Gus, is seen trying to catch up with the person so he could go with, but to no avail. The vehicle drives off and Gus is left alone – in the freezing cold – waiting for someone to arrive and help him.

“The dog had no idea what was going on, and you can see that he wanted to go with,” the shelter wrote. “It breaks our hearts.”

The video was captured just after 6 a.m. Around the same time, the official temperature in Eau Claire was 9° with wind chills making it feel like zero.

The ECCHA shared the one-minute video on its Facebook page, saying, “(S)ome mornings aren’t very happy at the shelter. Today, we came in to find a sweet boy tied to our front door.”

The shelter made the post asking for help identifying the individual. In an update Thursday afternoon, they revealed the person did come forward and officially surrendered Gus. That means the shelter will be able to get to work finding him a good home right away, without waiting the mandated period if he were a stray dog.

“It was very brave to call us and this action will help us be able to help Gus find a new home,” the shelter wrote, adding its thanks to the owner for “doing the right thing.”

Gus will be available for adoption as soon as a veterinarian clears him. Anyone interested in adopting him can go to www.eccha.org for more information.

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