“There was no chance he’d jumped in there.”
Dog Rescued from Trash Compactor Finds Hope with Florida Couple
Last Sunday morning, Brandon Arroyo, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, received a startling call from a neighbor in his Daytona Beach apartment complex: a dog had been spotted trapped in the building’s trash compactor.
Arroyo and his wife, Heather Jones, rushed to the scene.
“Sure enough, there he was — this big, black dog at the bottom of the compactor,” Jones told The Dodo. Though she’d seen videos of abandoned dogs in landfills, witnessing such a situation in real life was staggering.
At first, the couple hoped the dog had accidentally ended up there. But a closer look made that seem impossible. The compactor’s door was elevated nearly 4½ feet — far too high for a dog in such poor condition to jump into on his own.
“There was no chance he got in there by himself,” Jones said.
Realizing the dog had likely been dumped intentionally, Arroyo and Jones focused on gaining his trust. He refused treats, so Arroyo simply sat beside him until the dog relaxed. Slowly, the officer was able to pull him out.
Only then did the full heartbreak set in: someone had tried to throw this dog away.
Dehydrated and malnourished, the dog was in rough shape. But with a little food, water, and love, he quickly began to recover. The couple named him Daytona, after the place he was found.
“In just four or five days, he’s made a huge comeback,” Arroyo said.
Beneath his fear, they discovered an affectionate, lively spirit. “He’s definitely going to be the most loyal dog ever,” Jones said. “You can tell he’s so thankful to be safe.”
The Daytona Beach community rallied around the pup. The local police department helped get him an X-ray and dropped off a generous supply of dog goods.
Daytona is currently being fostered through Pet Rescue By Judy, who is overseeing his medical care. Whether he stays with Arroyo and Jones or finds a new family, one thing is certain: he’ll never be discarded again. This time, he’s going home to love.