Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/dog-tied-to-train-tracks/

Dan Winkleman was walking down his driveway when he heard a dog barking in the forest behind his house. But these weren’t the carefree barks of a happy pup playing in the woods. As the barks grew more frantic, the South Carolina man began to wonder if something was wrong.

“But this dog, it sounded like you know when a dog frantically barks?’ Dan Winkelman told WBTW News 13. “And it was. I heard it and it was coming from an area where there isn’t a house. Where it’s just woods.”

Fortunately, the South Carolina man decided to find the source of the commotion. He followed the barking until he found a terrified dog sitting alone on the train tracks. “When I looked down to the right, I saw a dog just sitting in the middle of the railroad tracks and no people around,” he said.

But as Dan got closer, the situation took an even more ominous turn. Not only had this dog been dumped way out in the woods, someone cruel had also tied the dog’s leash to the tracks, leaving him to certain death when the next train passed through.

“There’s no mistaking it,” said Dan, who owns 4 dogs himself. “Those were human-tied knots. And I tried to untie it, but they were pulled so tight that I couldn’t get them undone.”

The man ran back to his house to find his wife, Jennifer, who rushed to help her husband free the trapped animal. About 30 minutes after they finally extricated the terrified dog, a train came barreling down the tracks.

“After he came back and told me that this poor dog was tied to the tracks, of course, immediately I was irate,” Jennifer told the station. “I wished we could find the person right then.”

Jennifer’s outrage eventually grew to include concern that such a sick person (or persons) lived in their midst, as well as regret that she and Dan hadn’t noticed anyone suspicious. “If they felt comfortable enough about leaving this animal to die, what is their mindset?” she wondered. “That was horrible what they did.”

Animal control has launched an investigation into this heinous act. Meanwhile, Jennifer tried finding the dog a home on Facebook because the local shelters were already full.

The dog eventually ended up in the care of Operation CARE, a no-kill rescue in York, South Carolina, where rescuers named the sweet pup Max. “This boy was no doubt saved from a horrendous death,” Operation CARE wrote on Facebook. “He is just a big goofy and sweet boy who thinks he is a lap baby! We are already in love with him.”

Max will be available for adoption as soon as he passes his veterinary exam, which will hopefully happen soon. “We are currently full but could not turn this sweet boy away,” said rescuers, who admitted Max’s harrowing predicament had shaken their faith in humanity. “I can’t imagine why someone would do something so awful to a poor animal.”

Follow Operation CARE on Facebook for updates on Max’s progress.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog