A heartbreaking video has captured the moment a dog was pushed out of a car and left just yards from an animal shelter in Missouri.
The dog, later named Toni, was spotted by the local mail carrier, who witnessed the moment the animal was abandoned in the rain on the afternoon of November 5.
Toni has since been taken in by the nearby Stray Rescue of St. Louis shelter, which shared the incident on its Facebook page: “Our mail carrier just witnessed this dog get pushed out of a car down the street from our shelter. Dumped out in the rain, but we got you now.” The clip of Toni, featured on the shelter’s page, shows the young dog calling out in obvious distress moments after being left alone on the sidewalk.
Natalie Thomson, Stray Rescue of St. Louis’ director of marketing, told Newsweek: “Only our mail carrier saw it happen, as it was down the street from our shelter. We do not know why [she was abandoned].”
Stray Rescue of St. Louis
Toni’s story adds to the alarming statistics of abandoned animals in the United States. In 2023, 6.5 million animals entered U.S. shelters, according to Shelter Animals Count, up 4 percent when compared to 2022 intakes. At the end of 2023, 117,000 additional dogs and cats were in the animal sheltering system compared to the same time the year before.
Around 850,000 animals were euthanized in shelters in 2023, a rise of 15 percent when compared to 2022. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Members of the community reacted to Toni’s story in the comments on Facebook where they expressed both outrage and compassion.
Cynthia Novak-Warner commented: “Poor innocent baby.”
Michelle Stahlhut wrote: “She is beautiful! How could someone do that? There is a special place for those people!”
Another commenter, Ashley Wickham, posted: “Oh the sadness in her eyes … Just wait, angel. You’re about to start the best part of your life!”
Toni the dog is now available for adoption, and the team hopes that she will soon find her happy ending.
Last week, another rescued dog gained viral attention when his new owner sat him down and talked him through the fact that they were not going to be returning him to the shelter. In the heartwarming video, Niño seemed to understand what his owner was saying.
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