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Abandoned Puppy Found In Dumpster Recovering At Cutler Bay Animal Hospital

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – How could anyone toss a cute helpless puppy in a dumpster, leaving him there to die?

That's exactly what happened in Homestead, where someone heard the little guy whimpering before pulling him out Monday.

They pulled the 8 to 10 week old American Bulldog mix from the trash and took him to Aussie Animal Hospital in Cutler Bay.

"The puppy is the one that I'm a little worried," Dr. Carlos Machado told CBS4 as the little dog sat in the doctor's arm looking scared.

Dr. Machado said the pup was doing a little better but had a long way to go.

"He's still not eating," Dr. Machado told CBS4 Reporter Donna Rapado. "We've had him on fluid for like two days and he's being taken care of.  But he's still very weak, full of parasites.  The typical rescue.  We gotta get him stronger and being a puppy again."

Dr. Machado works with several groups, rescuers often taking throw-away dogs from as far south as Florida City and Redlands in Miami-Dade up to the Everglades in Broward.

A 3-year-old American Bulldog had just been taken to the doctor Wednesday, rescued in the Everglades.

He was hard to look at because of a major case of mange, skin infections and parasites. But otherwise, he was still a beautiful white dog gingerly eating food from the doctor's hands. The doctor said it's miraculous how well these creatures recuperate with care and love despite abuse and abandon.

He also told Rapado people inadequately getting rid of their pets with no regard for the animal's life or survival was an epidemic. Those who do it often look at the dog as just an object, not a living a creature.

He said he himself helps and rescues a lot of abandoned dogs on his own dime and time. But he along with other rescuers, and even shelters, can't save them all. It's an out of control societal issue and responsibility.

"Everybody wants a cute puppy and everyone wants to take care of the but when he becomes a problem or he becomes too big or they do something in the house they just go out there and they dump him and this is what we get," he said.  "Those people that want an animal they ask me, 'What kind of dog should I get?' And I tell them, 'You gotta be thinking what you're gonna be doing for the next 15 years of your life because it's someone that you have to go home to. You have to be financially responsible for them. It's not just saying that you got a puppy.'"

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