SPCA: Dog saved from West Islip trash bin

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating the abandonment of a small dog, which appears to be a Lhasa apso, found alive in a West Islip commercial trash bin.

The SPCA was notified at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday by Suffolk County police with a report of the dog's discovery by someone who had been sifting through the bin at the USA gas station, 410 Montauk Hwy., said SPCA Chief Roy Gross.

The female dog, around a year-and-a-half old and wearing a worn-out pink leash and fairly new pink collar, was taken to the Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island, West Islip, for evaluation, he said.

A surveillance video shows the driver of black SUV putting a black plastic bag into the trash container at 7:42 a.m. Monday, Gross said. Investigators found that the bag contained a cardboard carrier with ventilation holes and think the dog got out of the carrier and chewed her way through the plastic bag, Gross said.

Though "severely matted" and appearing to have been "very much neglected," the dog was friendly with her rescuers, who included an officer from the Suffolk County Police Department, Gross said.

According to the vet's report, the dog appears to be in good health and is now being housed at the Islip Animal Shelter, Gross said. Her rescue was "a miracle for today," he said.

The SPCA is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. Call the Suffolk County SPCA anonymously at 631-382-7722.