Puppy found abandoned in Mesquite dumpster

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A puppy is waiting for a new home after a woman found him whimpering alone in a dumpster in Mesquite over the weekend.

The woman was out walking her dog Saturday morning when she heard a noise and found the dog in a dumpster and called animal control.

After a few days of being checked out and watched, the puppy, who’s now been named Oscar, is about ready for adoption. Animal control officers aren't sure who left the puppy in the dumpster that morning.

With the temperature in Mesquite reaching 91 degrees and a heat index of 101, they're just glad someone was able to spot the puppy and call them before it was too late.

Days after being found in the trash, Oscar has a new name and is about to get a new home.

“I named him after Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street who lives in the trash can,” said Morgan Ramsey, an animal control officer. “The Grouch part probably doesn't fit him because he's so happy.”

Ramsey is the one who first responded to the call after a concerned resident heard something unusual.

“And she walked past a dumpster and she heard a funny noise,” said Mesquite shelter manager  Jeanne Saadi. “She peeked in the dumpster, and she saw a puppy inside.”

Oscar is only about two or three months old and is possibly a pit bull mix, according to shelter employees.

“He looked like he was probably a little bit relieved to see somebody ‘cause he was in the dumpster,” Ramsey said.

And they don't think Oscar got in there on his own.

“There was no water in the dumpster for him,” Saadi said. “It's a metal compartment that's going to get the heat and hold onto the heat.”

Shelter employees say they are not actively looking for the person who left Oscar here.

“It's not necessarily wasn't a malicious act. We don't want to make those judgments,” Saadi said. “We want to be the ones that do the follow-up care and give them a better future.”

The shelter instead wants Oscar's rescue to inspire others to adopt another furry friend in need who might have a similar back story.

“The outpouring of support this one story has gotten from all over the country has been great,” the shelter manager said. “And we want to build on those kinds of outcomes.”

Oscar has gotten a lot of interest from families since his story was shared on Facebook. He already has a list of about eight families who want to adopt him.