Dog Found Alive During News Report In Boneyard Of Discarded Pets

<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=127&v=xTGzCSVI0kM" target="_blank">YouTube/The Dallas Morning News</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=127&v=xTGzCSVI0kM" target="_blank">YouTube/The Dallas Morning News</a></p>

Every year, countless dogs in the United States are abandoned by their owners, left to fend for themselves or await death out of sight from the people they thought they could trust.

While all too often, unloved and alone, they do indeed meet that sad fate, there's a glimmer hope for those pets - thanks to people like Marina Tarashevska.

Warning: Video contains graphic footage

Tarashevska, a dog rescuer in Texas, is the subject of a troubling exposé by the Dallas Morning News, which casts light on an issue of national importance. Nearly every day, the 28-year-old ventures out to a forest in southeast Dallas that's long been a popular place for people to abandoned their dead, dying or unwanted pets. Her goal is to bring justice for the deceased and, in the best cases, salvation to the living.

While walking with a news crew through the illegal pet dumping ground, a literal boneyard of discarded dogs, the urgency of her work couldn't have been exhibited more clearly.

click to play video

Cameras were rolling as Tarashevska sifted through decomposing bodies of dogs in search of some marker identifying their owners. That's when, not far off, she spotted a dog still alive amid all that death: a frightened Rottweiler she swiftly brought to safety.

The abandonment and stray pet problem is hardly limited to the Dallas area, which, as the Morning News' reporting notes, is fraught with issues surrounding animal management. But elsewhere, similarly shocking sites can be found in unseen corners of cities and towns across America.

An estimated 4 million dogs are abandoned yearly in the U.S. - a rate of more than 10,000 per day. Of those, many will struggle to stay alive as strays, while others will be taken to already overcrowded animal shelters where a high percentage end up being euthanized.

The epidemic of pets in need is too great for volunteers like Tarashevska to solve on their own, though even a small rise in public action could alleviate it greatly.

Visit the Humane Society to learn about what you should do if you encounter a stray pet in need.