- A Bull Terrier mix was callously thrown out of a black Lexus in Long Beach
- A delivery person recorded the abandonment, prompting a search of the community
- Destiny Gomez found the dog and fed him: she even found him a foster parent
A devastated onlooker captured the moment a dog owner left his pet behind in Long Beach, California, throwing the Bull Terrier mix out of their Lexus as they drove away.
A food delivery driver behind the black sedan without tags recorded the heartbreaking scene as the dog hopelessly chased its owner as they ran away.
In the video you hear the delivery person say: ‘The owner is literally abandoning him… look! Oh my God.’
Destiny Gomez, 24, a woman who finds homes for stray animals, saw the video and messaged the delivery person.
“When I watched that video, it broke my heart. I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t keep the dog out of my mind,” Gomez told NBC Los Angeles in an interview from her car.
Based on the video, it appears the dog is trying to track the owner’s car on several streets in the area where it was abandoned.
Destiny Gomez posted this video to her Instagram to appeal to dog lovers in the area and possibly help find the abandoned pooch
The dog is seen looking up at the driver’s side window, presumably at its owner
The dog desperately tries to jump back into the Lexus, but to no avail
As someone whose passion is finding homes for pets, Gomez was heartbroken when she saw the video
The dog chases after the car through a stop sign
Gomez took a photo of the dog, who she renamed Chico, after he was groomed and posted it to her Instagram Story
Gomez was able to quickly find a foster parent for Chico
Gomez (photo) with another dog in December 2020
Gomez and her boyfriend (pictured right) who found the dog in the Long Beach area
After posting the video on Instagram to appeal to her vast network of dog lovers, she received a tip telling her where the dog might be.
“We also got street coordinates, like where someone saw him, so they said, ‘Can you go there?'” Gomez told NBC Los Angeles in an interview from her car.
The hints from the amateur dog sleuths who followed Gomez’s Instagram led Gomez’s friend straight to the neighborhood where the dog was dumped. Hours later he found him safe and sound.
After making sure the dog was safe, fed and cared for, Gomez named him Chico and found a foster parent in nearby Palos Verdes.
Now Gomez is trying to find Chico a forever home.
“People have been DMing me saying they want him and they can pick him up today, but I really want to go through a rescue first,” Gomez said.