Man accused of throwing emaciated dog into trash has been arrested

An Iowa man has been arrested for allegedly throwing an emaciated dog away in a Des Moines trash receptacle. According to KCCI News, 35-year-old Derrick Peterson is facing charges of animal neglect and abandonment for abandoning the two-year-old Chihuahua earlier this month.

The dog

Peterson is accused of putting the starved dog, dubbed Oscar, into a crate and throwing him into a dumpster located at 6th Ave. and Forest Ave. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) recounted what happened:

This neglected, emaciated dog was trapped in a kennel and thrown in a dumpster – left for dead. Luckily, the kennel broke open upon impact and Oscar was able to climb to the top of the trash pile, but he was too weak to jump out of the dumpster. All he could do was wait. Eventually, a good Samaritan saw him and rushed him to the ARL for help.

According to ARL, Oscar was a “mere skeleton” who weighed a mere four pounds when he was first discovered. ARL wrote:

This didn’t happen overnight. Oscar had been neglected for a while.
He arrived at the ARL just in time. Had it been much longer, he wouldn’t have survived. Over the past several days our medical team has been helping him safely regain weight and begin to return to health. This poor guy was so hungry that once he began having food again, his body immediately responded. In the first 48 hours he regained 25% of his body weight! He is so sweet. He wants to be near people at all times and especially loves being held.

ARL identified Peterson as a person of interest on November 16. Peterson was taken to the Polk County Jail.

(Screenshot via KCCI)

More news, updates, funny videos and memes on the National Animal News Facebook page.

In need: Sweet 12-year-old dog scared – family moved but didn’t include him in the plans. The story here.

Yesterday: Dog died after being abandoned in a sports bag – the heartbreaking story here.

Puppies of the ocean

Snow time fun!