“This post is not to find the person responsible but to educate our community that it is illegal to abandon an animal and there is absolutely NO reason to do so,” Santa Barbara County Animal Services wrote on its Facebook page. “If you find a stray animal that you cannot safely house and the shelter is closed, we have on-call animal control officers that will respond. If you are no longer able to care for your own pet please bring it into the shelter so that you can share what you know. This information will help us find the best possible place for your pet and we believe we owe our pets that much. Many people may be fearful of surrendering your animal to a shelter, we know it can be scary and emotional, but please know we are here to help.”

Luckily, Halo is doing well and made it out of the whole ordeal unharmed. While she was incredibly frightened when she was first found, she’s doing much better now, and has begun to come out of her shell with the help of all her new shelter friends.

“She is a very happy, active, sweet puppy,” Silva said.

While Halo’s story had a happy ending, the shelter is hoping that it will also stand as a reminder that you should never abandon your pets, even outside a shelter, and that there is always a better way of handling things.

Source: thedodo.com