CHARLES CITY COUNTY, Va. -- An animal rescue group is now fostering the dog that was stuck inside a dumpster that was about to be emptied in Old Towne Petersburg earlier this month.
"We have a local celebrity joining River City Bulldog Rescue and we need help with some of her vet bills and other dogs in the rescue," Wendy Brimmer Patterson wrote.
Patterson said fundraising for the Charles City-based rescue has been a challenge because of the pandemic since they usually held in-person events to raise money.
"Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support," Patterson said.
More than $1700 of the group's $5,000 fundraising goal had been met as of 3:45 p.m. Thursday.
Patterson shared photos of the pup, now known as Myrtle, basking in the sun while sitting in the grass. Another photo shows the dog sporting a red tut as she sits in a blue Adirondack chair at her temporary foster home.
Click here if you would like to make a donation
Trash truck driver: 'She could've got crushed'
Jermaine Jackson rescued Myrtle from a dumpster in Old Towne Petersburg early on July 2.
"As I pull up to the can and went to dump it, a dog popped out,” said Jackson, a Waste Management driver who was rattled since he had started to raise the dumpster when he spotted her.
"It's kind of sad because she's sitting there with a sad face like get me out of here,” he said. “If I didn't see her, she'd be in the back of the truck right now or she could have gotten crushed."
Jackson built the dog a makeshift shelter nearby, since it was raining heavily, and called animal control.
Unfortunately, they were not open yet, so the pup ended up on Frances Verschuure’s front porch a few blocks away.
"We got some blankets, we got some food, we got some water and called animal control," Verschuure said. "So in the meantime, we just sat out here with her. She was as sweet as she could be."
Animal control workers arrived to care for the dog.
"They did say she was full of milk and recently had puppies," Verschuures said.
Jackson does not believe she climbed into the dumpster on her own.
"I think somebody threw her in there because where the dock is at, she's too short to jump on that dock," he explained.
Jackson was saddened by the experience since there are so many people willing to take care of needy animals.
"I got two dogs of my own, and I could never think about throwing them in the trash can just because I couldn't take care of them,” he said. “You wouldn't want nobody to throw you in the trash can if they couldn't take care of you."
