Photo courtesy: Zeus the wonder puppy/Facebook
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KTVU) - The Mountain View Police Department's dispatch unit has an unofficial mascot in a recently rescued puppy found next to a dumpster, covered in food and feces.
The Miniature Dachshund caught the attention of a public safety dispatcher last month, after police received a report of an abandoned dog in Sylvan Park.
Officers say a woman walking her own dog found the small animal inside a crate, placed in a cardboard box with a blanket on top. The box was stuffed in the bushes next to a dumpster.
The dog was curled up in a ball, showed obvious signs of neglect and veterinarians would later learn his belly was full of intestinal worms. He appeared to be about six months old.
"He was absolutely traumatized," said Katie Nelson, the department's public information officer. "The cage was disgusting... He was shaking and cowering in the corner."
Officers brought the little dog to the police department to clean him off on their way to animal control, when fate brought the puppy to meet his future owner.
Public safety dispatcher Judy Cahill laid eyes on the frightened and neglected pup, and she knew she couldn't let him go.
One look and "that was it," said Nelson.
Cahill had recently put down her 14-year-old dog and knew at some point she would want to get a new canine companion.
The rescued puppy did not have a tag or microchip identification so Cahill began the process of adopting him, to bring the abandoned animal into her life. And she gave the little pup a very strong name: Zeus.
There was so much interest in how Zeus was getting settled, Cahill created a Facebook page, "Zeus the Wonder Puppy," offering photo and video updates.
He's still shy, but appears to be coming "out of his shell" since being placed in his new home with Cahill, whom the dog absolutely adores, according to Nelson.
On Zeus's Facebook page, Cahill gives some background information on how the abandoned pup was discovered and she says, "He's safe now."