STOCKTON, California — A disturbing image spread across social media over a holiday weekend — a dog, still in its crate, thrown into a dumpster like trash at a Stockton apartment complex.
For the people who saw it, the photo was impossible to scroll past.
“I saw the picture, I was like, wait, is this a dog?” said Claudia Martinez, one of the first to respond.
Two Strangers Rushed to the Scene
Martinez and Alexandria Galindo had never met. But after seeing the image online — along with the address of the Riverbank Apartments in Stockton — both women drove straight there, hoping the animal was still alive.
They were too late.
“You’re driving out there with hope in your heart,” Galindo said. “It was very, very unsettling to see it just tossed like that, like trash.”
Galindo pulled the dog from the dumpster, placed it in her truck, and brought it to a nearby veterinary emergency clinic.
Stockton Police were called, and the department is now working alongside Stockton Animal Services on an active animal cruelty investigation. The apartment complex said they were unaware of the incident and are looking into what happened.
Advocates Say This Is Part of a Bigger Problem
For Martinez and Galindo, this is not an isolated case.
“It’s happening way, way too many times,” Galindo said. “It’s not just the deceased — we’re seeing a lot more constant abandonment of dogs.”
Both women are now pushing for tougher laws and real consequences for animal abandonment.
“If you can’t take care of the dog, give it to someone who can,” Martinez said. “They can’t say anything. Someone has to speak for them.”
Does your community need stronger animal protection laws? Share your thoughts in the comments.
