Current:Home > FinanceDog rescued after more than a week trapped inside shipping container in Texas port-LoTradeCoin
Dog rescued after more than a week trapped inside shipping container in Texas port
View Date:2024-12-23 23:57:29
HOUSTON (AP) — It was just another routine day of inspecting shipping containers at the Port of Houston for U.S. Coast Guard officer Ryan McMahon when he and his team thought they heard barking coming from inside one of the thousands of containers that surrounded them.
“Oh, it’s scratching, dude,” one of the inspectors said in video they recorded Wednesday morning as the team looked up at the container, stacked about 25 feet (8 meters) in the air.
A crane was used to bring it to the ground, and out popped a very sweet and friendly dog.
“As soon as we opened it, we could see the little dog’s face poking out. She was right there, like she knew we were going to be there to open it for her. And she just, she wasn’t scared or anything. She just seemed happy more than anything, to be out of that dark space and in the arms of people that were going to take care of her,” McMahon, a petty officer 2nd class, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Coast Guard officials would later determine that the canine — since nicknamed Connie the container dog — had been trapped inside for at least eight days, with no food or water.
She was a little dirty and “definitely pretty skinny,” McMahon said.
McMahon and the three other inspectors drove Connie to an animal shelter in the Houston suburb of Pasadena, where she was checked out. A rescue group, Forever Changed Animal Rescue, has taken her in and is working to get her healthy and ready for adoption.
Coast Guard officials are not sure where the container came from, but inside were junked vehicles that were likely being shipped overseas to be sold for parts.
“So based on that, they think that the dog most likely was in a junkyard, in a car. And that’s how she accidentally got put in the container,” Guard spokeswoman Chief Petty Officer Corinne Zilnicki said.
McMahon said he’s grateful he and his team were at the right place and at the right time to hear Connie barking and prevent the container from being put on a cargo ship. They usually conduct inspections once a week throughout the Port of Houston, and on Wednesday they were at the port’s Bayport Container Terminal which likely has over 10,000 containers, he said.
“It would take at least another week to get to where she was going (on a cargo ship) and two weeks without food or water. I don’t think she would have made it,” McMahon said.
Forever Changed Animal Rescue thanked “all of the amazing people involved in this rescue and saving Connie’s life.”
The rescue group said in a Facebook post that Connie was a bit underweight, tested positive for heartworm and would be getting treatment for it.
“We will also be doing a full workup on her to ensure that she receives all the care she needs and deserves,” the group said.
The inspectors had thought about adopting Connie, but it wasn’t the right time for any of them.
“We know with all this, she’s going to go to a good home where they love her and take care of her,” McMahon said.
___
Follow Juan A. Lozano on X, formerly known as Twitter: twitter.com/juanlozano70
veryGood! (6173)
Related
- What’s the secret to growing strong, healthy nails?
- From stage to screen: A concert film of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour heads to theaters
- 6-month-old pup finds home with a Connecticut fire department after being rescued from hot car
- Feds fighting planned expedition to retrieve Titanic artifacts, saying law treats wreck as hallowed gravesite
- ‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
- 'This is not right': Young teacher killed by falling utility pole leads to calls for reform
- Fifth inmate dead in five weeks at troubled Georgia jail being probed by feds
- Satellite images capture massive flooding Hurricane Idalia heaped on Florida's Big Bend when it made landfall
- 'Red One' review: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans embark on a joyless search for Santa
- Billy Ray Cyrus and Fiancée Firerose Share Insight Into Their Beautiful Whirlwind Romance
Ranking
- Glen Powell responds to rumor that he could replace Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'
- Where RHOSLC's Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow Stand Today After Years-Long Feud
- Houston Cougars football unveils baby blue alternate uniforms honoring Houston Oilers
- Delta Air Lines says it has protected its planes against interference from 5G wireless signals
- Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
- Capitol physician says McConnell medically clear to continue with schedule after second freezing episode
- 1 killed, 3 injured after shooting at Texas shopping center; suspected shooter dead
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
Recommendation
-
Cold case arrest: Florida man being held in decades-old Massachusetts double murder
-
Is beer sold at college football games? Here's where you can buy it during the 2023 season
-
Texas high court allows law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors to take effect
-
Dog repeatedly escapes animal shelter, sneaks into nursing home, is adopted by residents
-
LSU leads college football Week 11 Misery Index after College Football Playoff hopes go bust
-
After outrage over Taylor Swift tickets, reform has been slow across the US
-
Taylor Swift is 'in a class of her own right now,' as Eras tour gives way to Eras movie
-
Fast-track deportation program for migrant families off to slow start as border crossings rise