Heart-wrenching footage of a dog chasing after the woman who abandoned him has gone viral on Facebook.
The incident took place on East Mud River Road in Milton, Virginia, on Sunday. It was recorded by a passerby and appears to show a woman abandoning a chocolate Labrador by the side of the road before the animal desperately tries to return to her.
This is the heartbreaking moment the Labrador chased after the woman who abandoned him:After the clip was posted to Facebook by a man named Bob Edmonds, it quickly racked up thousands of views, catching the eye of local animal rescuer Stephanie Elswick, who told WSAZ that she couldn't sleep knowing that the abandoned dog was out there.
Elswick began her search for the pooch on Monday, but it was to no avail, at first, but she eventually found the dog tied to a fence around a mile away from where he'd been filmed on Sunday.
She said: "It was a needle in a haystack, and I got really lucky.
"I asked if it was their dog. They said no. They'd found him in the road and tied him up to keep him safe. Just don't throw them out in the road like this to fend for themselves."
After locating the dog, Elswick took him to Huntington Animal Control, where he has already had potential adoptees express interest.
She added: "He deserves better. Now he's gonna get that chance."
Bob Edmonds, who filmed the incident, told WSAZ: "I just don't know how anybody could do that.
"Hopefully, the people are at least confronted and talked to and realize what they did was wrong."
The footage is now being analyzed in a bid to bring whoever abandoned the dog to justice.
According to WSAZ, a man who claimed to be the woman's boyfriend said she never abandoned the dog. Instead, she was trying to return him to his "real owners". The animal, however, was found without a collar.