Dog Sealed Inside Wooden Box Rescued As OKC Animal Welfare Seeks Abuser

Oklahoma City Animal Welfare is looking for whoever stuffed a pit bull mix into a dog house, sealed the entrance with a wooden board and screws, then dumped the trapped dog.

On Thursday, someone discovered the dog house in a grassy area at Southwest 5th Street and South May Avenue near the Oklahoma River. 

Rescuers then pried the screwed-in board off the entrance and brought the dog out before taking him to OKC Animal Welfare.

The dog is extremely malnourished and had scratch marks, scars and small wounds throughout his body. 

Despite his abused exterior, he is gentle and friendly toward people and other dogs at the shelter.

"It's heartbreaking," Jon Gary, superintendent at OKC Animal Welfare, said. "Just about a year ago, we had a dog that was zipped up inside of a duffel bag and dumped on the side of a road. And so we do see these cases. Thankfully, we don't see them a lot."

Gary said the dog house that the pit bull was sealed in had no food or water. It was also so small that the dog barely had room to turn around. Gary said the damaged wood around the entrance of the dog house indicated that the pit bull was desperately trying to escape.

Gary said, per city ordinance, the shelter has to hold the dog for three days. 

The plan is to then do a full medical workup and have the dog go to a foster home until he gains enough weight. Gary said after about a month, the dog may be ready for adoption.

Meanwhile, OKC Animal Welfare is asking anyone who recognizes the dog to call dispatch at 405-297-2255, so they can find the person responsible.

"These cases are very difficult because we don't have anything to go on other than a wooden box and a dog. And so we don't have any witnesses that we know of that saw who placed the box out there," Gary said.

Gary said a felony animal cruelty charge could be on the table.