Dog left on Beltline 'like it's a piece of trash'
EUGENE, Ore. - Venus Wallis first saw the dog lying on the side of Beltline Road on Monday morning.
"I tried to move it to see if it was alive and it was, because I thought maybe it was injured," she said.
A dog owner herself, Wallis called Eugene and Springfield police and Lane County Animal Services on Monday to report the stray.
She drove by the same location again on Tuesday.
The dog was still there.
She drove by again on Wednesday.
And the dog was still there.
Again she made calls to all three agencies.
"I'm not a professional to, you know, try and capture a dog," she said, "which is what they wanted me to do."
Now she is concerned about the dog - and that no one will do anything to help it.
"It's an animal, it's living, it's breathing, it has a heart," Wallis said. "Somebody once upon a time owned it, and it's on the side of the road like it's a piece of trash."
So what is the policy with stray animals?
"We have to take the most important calls first, calls that endanger the public, or animals that are endangered," said Lane County Animal Services Supervisor Tom Howard. "This animal did not seem to be in distress."
Howard said if you see a stray animal, you can always call it in.
But if the animal isn't posing a threat, animal control officers may not always be able to respond.
"We don't have the manpower for this when I have bites going, neglect and cruelty, animal attacks," Howard said.
Howard said if they can't respond to a report, they do ask for the public's help to bring the animal in so it can be impounded.
If you want to help, the dog was last seen on the eastbound side of Beltline near the I-5 exit.
In the meantime, Wallis said she's concerned for the dog's health.
"It's heartbreaking, it was really heartbreaking to see," she said.
