A Muncie Sanitary District employee saved a 6-week old puppy after the dog was thrown away in the garbage.

Mike Upchurch said he did not know there was a puppy in the trash at first because the puppy did not make a sound. He had just emptied the contents of a Toter (bin) into the garbage truck when he spotted something moving in the bag.

“Out of the corner of my eye in the bag, it was a blue recycle bag, by the way, I seen his head moving. I said 'Stop the truck,'" Mike told Fox 59 News. He heard a whimpering. "It was a terrible sound. This ole’ doggy here hollering, ‘Save me.’ I guess in doggy talk,” said Mike.

The pup's legs were sticking straight out and he was wet and freezing cold when Mike pulled him from the garbage. Mike tried desperately to warm him up in the truck before taking him to the animal hospital. The small pup made a miraculous recovery and a day later Mike and his wife Shelley decided to give the pup a forever home. They named him Garby.

Phil Peckinpaugh, director of the Muncie Animal Shelter in Indiana, told the Muncie Star Press he has officially filed a citation in Muncie City Court against the woman allegedly responsible for dumping the puppy. He spoke with the woman who allegedly admitted to throwing away the pup (along with two other puppies) because she thought the dog had Parvo and had died.


"When she thought that they were sick, instead of making the decision to take the animal to a vet - which would've been the correct and right decision - she made a self-diagnosis of Parvo, which turned out to be inaccurate,” Peckinpaugh said. “When the puppies stopped moving because their blood sugar was so low because they were starving, she made the decision that they were dead and threw them in the trash. You should never throw a puppy in the trash can - dead or alive, obviously." He added, "It’s absolutely horrible to think that maybe the others weren’t this lucky, maybe they were alive."

For Mike's part, he hopes people think twice if they are ever in such a position. "I kinda hope this makes people think a second before they do this ’cause there’s so much help out there," he said.


Since rescuing Garby, Mike has won a few fans. A note was found taped on a trash Toter that read "From fellow dog lovers…Thank you Muncie Sanitation and Mike Upchurch! You are appreciated!!"

As timing would have it, the Upchurch's had been talking about adding a pup to the family for a while. It also happened to be Shelley's birthday on the day he was rescued. So it turned out to be an easy decision to take Garby home with them. The couple have promised that Garby will be well looked after.
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