January 17th 2018
Abandoned and left to die, a sick crime in Okeechobee. A dog was tossed out of a moving car like a piece of trash and the driver never looked back! Thankfully, Ray Cashwell saw the whole thing happen.
“They don’t have a heart, they don’t have a heart,” said Cashwell. He’s still emotional after seeing someone abandon a pet near highway 70 in Okeechobee Tuesday morning.
“The door opened and I saw the dog getting thrown out…The car took off, I mean took off and the dog chased it,” said Cashwell.
The dog chased its owner for about a block, but Cashwell says the driver of a small blue car didn’t look back.
Cashwell says the dog was frightened and visibly shaking. The dog wouldn’t come to him, so he called the Trail of Hope Animal Rescue in Okeechobee and volunteer Lisa Stark rushed over.
When Stark arrived, Cashwell was doing his best to keep the dog off the street. It was her mission to get the dog.
“I just squatted down and said come here baby in my normal squeaky voice, it irritates a lot of people, but I am sorry it works for dogs and he comes running up and he jumped on me right away,” said Stark.
The dog, dubbed Bill was taken to Trail of Hope, where workers bathed and cleaned him up. “It’s very rewarding experience to know that you went out there, got a dog and saved it,” said Stark.
Right now, Okeechobee animal control workers are monitoring dog to ensure its health. Next week Trail of Hope volunteers plans to begin caring for the dog.