Dumped puppy found inside tied-up garbage bag in Winnipeg

A Winnipeg man has a new best friend, after a fateful walk through a back lane in River Heights.

Aaron Kaatz was leaving a friend's home on Lanark Street at around 4 p.m. Tuesday when he heard the faint sound of something yelping.

• Bill calls animals 'sentient beings,' includes jail time for cruelty
• Puppies chained to fence during storm prompt concern

"It sounded like a little puppy, so I checked the area and I looked and saw a garbage bag there, and it started moving," Kaatz told CBC News.

The bag was tied in a knot at the top, sitting beside a Dumpster, Kaatz said. He went over to check it out, admittedly nervous about what was inside. 

"I ripped open the garbage bag ... and there was probably about a two-month-old German shepherd puppy in there, absolutely terrified."

Kaatz said he scooped the dog up, and took it to his car to warm up.

"I was speechless at first," he said. "There was a whole bunch of mixed emotions. I was glad I was there to rescue it, but I was mad that it was thrown away in a garbage bag just left there to die."

"She was dirty ... she was freezing cold. I had a blanket in my car so I wrapped her in that to warm up. I put her under the heat."

The dog didn't have a collar or any identification and had been there for at least a few hours, Kaatz said. He took her home, gave her a bath and a new name: Elle. 

"She's an absolute perfect dog ... she just falls right into your arms and she just wants to be loved."

"I don't know what can make people throw away a small dog like that," Kaatz said. "It is a life. It can be someone's best friend."

Kaatz said he called the Winnipeg Humane Society, and was told Animal Services Agency would be notified. He said he wants the public to be on alert for these kind of situations. 

"Be on the lookout if you hear something or see something going on or if you do find a dog just care for it."

He said he plans to keep Elle, adding she's fitting right in with his other two other dogs.

"[They're] parenting her essentially," he said. "She's absolutely warmed up to us right now."