Finding a cute little pooch in a park, alone and with “FREE” and “GOOD HOME ONLY” written on her face and body with permanent ink is enough to enrage any dog lover, or basically anyone with a beating heart.
Like, how can someone do that? Sadly, it was what happened with this little dog.
But thankfully, she was lucky enough to be rescued in time.
The pup we are talking about is a Lab-mix. She was found abandoned at the Yoctangee Park, and the message was written in permanent ink on her body.
Adoption coordinator and office manager at the Ross County Humane Society, Sarah Cantrell, said they were shocked to see the condition of the dog.
According to her, the person who left the dog there had done a very childish thing.
The incident of the dog left unattended in the park was reported to the Chillicothe Police Department on May 24.
The puppy was immediately handed over to the Ross County Humane Society while the police charged the owner with abandonment, cruelty to animals and failure to license.
The pooch later got the name Marvella, meaning miracle.
Cantrell said that Marvella is now in a very good condition as a result of all the love showered on her by the organization.
Cantrell said: “She’s healthy and sweet and thankfully did not suffer from heat exposure.” She added that Marvella was abandoned at the start of summer but now she is doing alright.
Updating on the case of Marvella, Cantrell said that they received an application for her adoption that got approved and she’ll now be moving to her permanent home.
NBC4 also covered the story of the incident from the perspective of the woman who allegedly abandoned the dog.
The lady, named Kendra Stafford, said that she kept Marvella for around three months but then her landlord banned her from keeping a pet.
She initially planned to leave the dog in a cage with a written note attached to it.
Stafford told NBC4: “I went to my car to go find a piece of tape, couldn’t find a piece of tape. I then got out a permanent marker that wasn’t supposed to be used on my dog.
“It was just, you know, and I wrote on her.
“And I wrote ‘free’ and ‘good home only,’ and then after I did that, I had that cringe-worthy moment where I was just like ‘oh my gosh, I messed up like she looks awful.’”
Stafford further told that she tried Craigslist and other options to get Marvella a new loving family but nothing worked out.
She said: “I called every shelter in, around the county, like all over Ohio, and they all said that they were full. I called the dog warden and she said she couldn’t do anything about it at all.”
However, Ross County Humane Society maintained that they are the only animal shelter in the area and they never received any application from Stafford regarding Marvella.
Stafford acknowledged that she did the wrong thing and that she did regret writing on the puppy. But the woman claimed she did it with good intentions and that she only wanted the best for Marvella.
Replaced!