The story of a dog found tied to a fire hydrant and abandoned in Green Bay captivated the television news for days recently, with people expressing shock that such a thing happened. The dog was found with a note and a backpack filled with food, treats and toys.

The dog, named Baby Girl, was left on a busy corner, which allowed folks to see that the dog was in trouble much sooner, a safer alternative to being left in the woods or some other middle-of-nowhere location where predators could devour the canine. This allowed the dog to be taken to the humane society by a good Samaritan who waited an hour to see if someone came back for the dog.

The Green Bay Humane Society posted a message on Facebook that it was evident that the owner loved the dog and struggled with medical complications and challenges. I have to disagree with the assertion that the dog was loved, because if it was so loved, it would not be abandoned on a street corner like a piece of trash, and there is a special place in hell for folks who have such a disregard for a life.

There are times when pets can no longer be cared for, I admit that. However, that’s why humane societies exist, to care for the animals that can no longer remain in a home. It would have been kinder to bring the dog directly to a shelter instead of just tying it up to the hydrant and hoping someone cared enough to continue to provide for it.

All too often, animals are treated as disposable items, receiving indifference as they’re tossed aside like a used sandwich bag. When you decide to adopt or buy an animal, you take on the responsibility of its care and well-being. Every effort should be made to care for those animals through good times and bad, but if there’s no possible way left to continue doing so, there are ways to make sure they are cared for.

Abandoning a dog and tying it to a fire hydrant is not one of them.

This issue hits close to home for me because I adopted a dog many years ago, before I moved to Wisconsin. He’d been abandoned as well, only he was found wandering the streets near the airport of the community I was living in. I’d initially agreed to foster him for a time, but I quickly fell in love and adopted him. He made the move with me to Wisconsin and gave me joy for 10 years.

Near the end, he developed diabetes, which soon left him blind and having bladder control issues. It never occurred to me, even with those issues, that I should give up on him. If I’d ever lost my job, I would have made sure he ate before I did. When looking for apartments, places that didn’t allow pets were eliminated from consideration, and you’d be surprised how that limited my options when finding a place to live.

Even when I wound up having to be admitted to a hospital two years ago, my first phone call was to make sure family could take care of my dog. If that hadn’t been possible, I probably would have left the hospital to return home and care for him, even being in as sorry a shape as I was because, to me, he was family. That’s why I can’t buy the argument that having medical issues necessitated just dumping the dog on a street corner.

I’ve seen my fair share of abandoned animals in life. On occasion while growing up, my family would find puppies — sometimes with their mothers — left in the countryside to fend for themselves. It baffles me how, in a world where people are arguing when a human life has value, that there are some who can devalue the lives of dogs and cats.

I’m happy that Baby Girl has found a new home, with so many people reaching out and indicating they wanted to take her home. It’s heartening to see that there are good people in the world who would provide this dog with a safe space for the rest of her days. It doesn’t make up for the despicable act of the previous owner, though, and if I had my way, that person would never be responsible for the care of an animal again.

There were better ways to say goodbye to Baby Girl, even with providing food and toys. The happy ending to this story doesn’t absolve the prior bad act, and this should teach us all that the decisions we make affect others. If you decide to care for an animal, have a plan. If those plans go awry, have a strategy to make sure it will still be cared for, even if it’s not by you.