10-month-old foxhound found abandoned at Grandpa’s Pond with note from Santa

"Oscar" a foxhound, was found abandoned with a note taped to his fur by a parks employee and taken to the Hurricane City Animal Shelter, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 16, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Ken Thompson, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A young dog that was found abandoned Monday at a city park will soon come up for adoption. The dog was discovered wearing a makeshift harness with a note duct-taped to his fur.

Note placed in a plastic bag found duct-taped to the dog and addressed to the “dog pound” from “Santa Claus”, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 16, 2019 Photo courtesy of Ken Thompson, St. George News

On Monday, the Hurricane City Animal Control and Shelter received a call from a city parks employee reporting they found a dog that appeared to be abandoned at Grandpa’s Pond, a city park with a 7-acre lake located on 3700 West in Hurricane.

Workers found a note in a plastic bag that was duct-taped to the dog’s fur with “Dog pound; from Santa Clause” written on it.

An animal control officer responded and took the dog to the shelter, where the rope harness and duct tape was cut away from the dog. According to the note inside the plastic bag, the animal is a 10-month-old foxhound named Oscar that is house-trained, loves kids and has not had any shots.

The note is signed, “Sincerely Oscar.”

Hurricane Police Officer Ken Thompson told St. George News that the dog appears to be in good health, has a shiny coat of fur and was not underfed or dehydrated, but he was very frightened and easily startled by the time he got to the shelter.

It did not appear that the animal had been in the park or exposed to the elements for an extended period of time judging from the dog’s condition during intake at the facility.

Shelter volunteer Tracy Sahleen echoed Thompson’s comments about the dog being skittish.

“Oscar is scared of his own shadow right now, but this is an incredibly sweet dog.”

The fact that Oscar was spotted by the parks employees when he was and then rescued quickly prevented any further exposure to the elements, which also prevented the animal from suffering the serious effects of malnutrition or dehydration.

Sahleen said Santa would never drop a dog off at the park to be rescued — that would never happen – and Thompson added that the individual that abandoned the dog has not been identified.

Oscar is on a seven-day hold and will be eligible for adoption Monday at the Hurricane Animal Shelter located at 2084 S. 700 East, approximately 2 miles south of state Route 9 in Hurricane.

The cost to adopt Oscar is $40, which includes microchipping but does not include shots.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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