Hi, I'm Lia. I'm not a very big girl. I’m about 35 pounds and only about seven months old.
Can you spot me in the picture? This is not the normal place you should expect to find a companion animal living. Sadly, there are hundreds and hundreds of dogs like me that try to survive by looking for food at rural garbage dumps. You get pretty desperate when you’re trying to survive. SCARS has even found very young puppies at dumps – isn’t that awful?
On the day I was rescued (February 2, 2010), my foster mom and another volunteer set out on a rescue mission and figured they would find some dogs if they visited a garbage dump. They were right! Sadly, several dogs ran away but they caught me and another beautiful German Shepherd cross. I was just looking for my next meal when they pulled up and noticed me at the bottom of the pit. Although I let them catch me, I was pretty scared and it was not a fun car ride to my new foster home.
One of first things they did was give me a bath. Apparently, humans don't like the smell of garbage. I turned out to be a really gentle dog and it didn’t take long for SCARS to find me a forever home.
Next time you're driving in the country and pass by a dump, remember there are lots of other dogs like me that need help. Please support SCARS!
Lia has been adopted!