A dog who was abandoned on a busy highway in North Carolina earlier this month has been rescued by a foster, reports People Magazine. Madison Nygard, who works with a Holly Springs-based shelter, Pawfet Match Rescue, found the dog inside a kennel with a sign that read “Free dog, Free Kennel.” Subsequently, she brought the pup into her home.
Foster rescued abandoned dog after seeing Facebook post
Nygard rescued the dog, Nova, after she came across a Facebook post by someone who saw the canine on the highway. She said she saw the post “a couple of minutes” after it went up and managed to find the dog within an hour.
“What happened for them to decide to, ‘Let me just put this dog in a crate with no tray underneath on the concrete in 40-degree weather in the middle of the day, in front of a food truck on a major highway?”’ Nygard asked. She later helped the pup get medical attention before taking her home.
“I got her in the house, and she came over, licked my kids, went over to my husband, and was loving on him,” Nygard said. She noted that Nova loves cuddling up on the couch, which, according to her, could suggest the pup used to live in a home. She also added that the dog got along quite well with her and her family.
“My son was very sad when I brought her home because he was like, ‘Oh no, she lost her family. What are we going to do, Mommy?'” Nygard said. Continuing, she shared, “I was like, ‘She’s going to be fine. We’re going to take care of her. We’re going to love on her.'”
Monica Horvath from Pawfet Match Rescue said the shelter will soon look for a home for Nova. She added that a former judge is “very interested” in adopting the canine and that once Nova completes her holding period at the shelter, her adoption “will likely be processed.” Until then, the dog will enjoy life with her foster family.
Rise in pet abandonment cases after COVID-19 pandemic
Harvath briefly touched upon the rise in pet abandonment cases in the United States after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Since the pandemic, I think nationwide, it has been a huge problem where people adopted when they were at home a lot more often,” she said. “And then they realize when they return to work that it’s not as easy to manage the dogs.”
Harvath also noted that spaying and neutering “fell off dramatically” during the pandemic since “people weren’t going out.” As a result, more puppies were born, contributing to the ongoing shelter crisis in the country.
