Facilities and operations groundskeeper Syda Khaleck heard a moaning dog while throwing away a garbage bag into the dumpster around 8 a.m.

Khaleck found a female Chihuahua dog with broken front legs alive in the Santa Rosa Junior College Bech Lot dumpster Oct. 27, apparently left to die.

He immediately wrapped the shaking and cold pup in a towel and called his co-worker Cheryl Sherwood for support.

“It was just a horrible thing to find,” Sherwood said. “I cried. I felt so bad for it. The fact that she was shaking so much, was scared and was in so much pain because of her legs.”

As the SRJC veterinarian was not there that day, Sherwood decided to take the dog to Heritage Veterinary Hospital on Steele Lane. But they didn’t do anything to help the dog and suggested sending it to Sonoma County Animal Services.

There, officials immediately took charge the dog and Animal Control Officer Justin Foster filled a report with Sherwood and notified the Santa Rosa Junior College District Police on Oct. 28.

Police Lieutenant Robert T. Brownlee said, “This could be a violation of section 597(a) of the California Penal Code, which is a felony.”

The Section 597 of the California Penal Code states: “Every person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures or wounds a living animal or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars.”

The situation revolted Sherwood. “To me, it’s torture. Whether they didn’t have money to treat the dog or whatever reason they left it in there, something else could have been done, more humane. They could have left it where someone could help it.”

If you have any information regarding the case, call the SRJC District Police at 527-1000 (Case Number Reference JC15-0554).