Dog Rescued From Trash Can Gets Home With South Bay Cop Who Saved Him

GARDENA, CA — A 1-year-old terrier mix found inside a trash can has found a new home with the Gardena police officer who saved him, turning a “heartbreaking discovery” into a “magical ending.”

Amid the “busy holiday rush,” the police officer paused when he “heard faint whimpers and cries coming from a self-compacting trash can outside a local church,” the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles said in a news release.

When the officer looked inside the trash can, he found “a small, scared dog, now known as Flan, who had been tossed away like trash,” the rescue nonprofit said.

The officer contacted Gardena Animal Control, then officers brought Flan to spcaLA South Bay Adoption Center, the nonproift said.

At the center, the rescue said its staff cared for Flan and provided him with “nutritious food while he completed the mandatory stray hold.”

Then, on Christmas Eve, Flan found his “happy ending.”

“The same officer who rescued Flan returned to spcaLA South Bay, this time with his family, to give Flan the safe and loving home he deserves,” the rescue said. “This is one rescue we’ll never forget.”