Chihuahua Left For Dead In Horizon

WARNING: Some people may find the images in the story disturbing.

HORIZON - Tires and trash aren't the only things some people will dump near the Horizon desert. On Tuesday, someone left their pet Chihuahua to die.

Two women found him right before Jennifer Calderon went to check her mail and saw them helping the dog.

"He was on a towel, and he was having convulsions. I asked the two women if they knew whose dog it was, and they said they didn't know. They said they had seen somebody dump him," Calderon said.

The dog's owner couldn't be tracked down, because the women didn't get a license plate or a description of the car. So, Calderon called El Paso Animal Services, and she spoke with a women who answered the phone.

"She said that the El Paso Animal Control had no jurisdiction up here, and that she would contact the Sheriff's Department that handles the area. They never came," Calderon said.

Hours passed and despite the women trying to give the dog water from a bottle, he died. No one from animal control showed up.

"It was really heartbreaking, really, really, heartbreaking because as I mentioned before, maybe they couldn't have helped him, but they could have just relieved his pain," Calderon said

A day later the dogs body was still there. Someone moved him closer to the desert, but no one from animal control picked him up.

"It's not the first time this has happened. There's been other instances where dogs are decomposing out here because nobody wants to come pick them up," Calderon said

Calderon's husband buried the Chihuahua in the desert. It was the least they could do for the little guy who was thrown out like an old tire on the side of the road.

We asked the Sheriff's Office why no one ever went to help the dog. A spokesperson says they tried, but by the time an animal control officer responded it was too late. The dog was dead, and they say the responsibility of removing the body was passed on to another county department. As you know now, by then neighbors took responsibility into their own hands and buried him.

*WARNING: Some people may find the images in the story disturbing.