Abandoned Pomeranian Found Zippered Inside Backpack On The Mend

This dog was likely doomed had it not been for an observant passerby who noticed an odd-looking zipped up backpack sitting unattended.

A nine-pound, probably nine-year-old Pomeranian was found trapped inside the backpack and dumped beside a sidewalk in West Roxbury last week. The dog could easily have died of exposure or starvation if the passerby had not seen the bag, and cared enough to check what was inside.

"It was so odd to find a backpack close to the sidewalk but seemingly intentionally hidden underneath a bush-so I felt compelled to investigate," said West Roxbury resident Andrea DesJardins, who spotted the bag near the intersection of Center and Willow Streets on May 18, in a statement."As I got closer I could see that something was moving inside the bag-I immediately loosened the zipper and was shocked to find a startled, chocolate brown Pomeranian staring back at me."

DesJardins quickly drove the dog-and the bag-to the MSPCA-Angell adoption center in Jamaica Plain.

"It's always shocking to imagine someone leaving a defenseless animal outside and trapped in such a way," said MSPCA shelter operations coordinator Corinne Bourgoin in a statement. "Had Andrea not gotten her to us it's very possible she would have died inside that bag."

"Jan," as the dog has since been named by staffers, registered a dangerously low temperature when she came in and her gums were pale-both possible indicators of serious health concerns.

"But we warmed her using heated blankets and showered her with affection and that seemed to turn her around," said MSPCA shelter associate director Anna Rafferty-Fore in a statement. "She perked right up after about an hour outside the bag.

The MSPCA surmises that Jan was likely bought from a breeder in Missouri, shipped to Massachusetts about a decade ago. Jan has a microchip that was purchased by the Missouri Pet Breeders Association-likely to satisfy minimum requirements established by airlines who fly pets onboard their planes-but that chip was never populated with an owner's contact information.

"In the six days Jan has been at the shelter, no one has claimed her," said Rafferty-Fore, who added that Jan is as social and friendly as they come and adores time spent around people. The veterinary team who examined her suspects she may be partially or totally deaf, but otherwise appears healthy.

Jan's mandatory seven-day stray hold expires today and, fortunately, she won't even have to be placed on the adoption floor.

"Word spread like wildfire once she arrived on our doorstep and there are a number of potential adopters already waiting in line to take her home," said Rafferty-Fore. Some media outlets have reported that someone at the MSPCA adopted Jan.

For more information about the MSPCA's pet surrender process, readers can click here.

Photos via MSPCA