The SPCA says KD the dog is lucky to have survived her ordeal.
KD is one lucky dog.
The 1-year-old black and white mutt spends her days playing under the Texas sun or relaxing on her owners’ couch and even posing for Instagram — a drastic turn from the life she led before she was dumped on the side of the road weeks earlier.
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“It’s terrible. It’s sad, but at least now we can give her a happy home," said KD’s new owner Zachary San Roman. “She doesn’t have to worry about her past anymore."
Surveillance cameras installed by the Dallas Marshal’s Office captured a man exiting his black sedan on Aug. 4 and dumping a dog out on the side of the road, near a wooded area.
DFAC, a local volunteer group, found the pup days later with his leash caught on a tree.
"Dogs on their own tend not to survive without human support," James Bias, president of the SPCA of Texas, told InsideEdition.com. “They can end up dying of starvation or being hit by a car. The outcome is usually not a positive one and this is definitely a violation of the state cruelty statute.”
After a warrant for the driver’s arrest, Gorge Spears, 52, turned himself in Sept. 11.
Spears explained that he dumped the dog to help his sister, who couldn’t take care of the dog herself, according to authorities.
“There are so many options for current pet owners who have to give up the pet,” Bias said. “The best scenario is for [the owner] to find [the dog] a new home. If you find you’re not successful in rehoming your pet, then certainly reaching one of the sheltering and rescue groups in the community so you’re not asking the animal to survive on their own in the wild.”
When animal control turned the pup over to the SPCA, Bias said she had heartworm but otherwise no life threatening conditions.
As the dog was treated of her conditions, a young couple, San Roman and his girlfriend Reagan Henderson, 22, came to the shelter with adoption in mind, and couldn’t keep their eyes off the rescue pup.
“We fell in love immediately,” Henderson told InsideEdition.com. “She put her paws on our shoulders and was licking our faces.”
They took the pup home four days after she was rescued, and renamed her KD, after basketball superstar Kevin Durant.
“My family has a tradition of naming our dogs after professional basketball players,” Henderson joked. “We’ve had a Michael, we’ve had a Jordan. I have to stay with the tradition. It’s a little more difficult with female dogs but we thought KD was a good fit.”
She explained they had no idea of KD’s traumatic past until she found herself scrolling the SPCA’s Facebook page one afternoon and spotted the surveillance footage of her beloved pet being dumped on the street.
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“I immediately started crying, ‘Not my baby,’ Henderson said. “She had been out for a long time without water so I’m sure it was a tough situation for her. We were just thankful she wasn’t hit by a car.”
Despite the trauma experience, San Roman said it doesn’t appear the experience made its mark on KD.
“She loves car rides,” he explained. “She just likes to lie down and look out the window or just relax. She always finds a way to relax anywhere you put her.”
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