New homeowners find starving dog locked in closet

CARIBOU, Maine – Police are looking for whoever abandoned a dog by locking it in the closet of a vacant home in Caribou, Maine.

According to the Bangor Daily News, new homeowners had begun renovating their house when they found a pitbull mix puppy locked in a closet.

The dog had not “been properly cared for in quite some time,” Caribou Police Department said on social media on Wednesday.

“As you can tell, the pup has not been properly cared for in quite some time. In fact, he was found abandoned in a closet in a recently purchased home (that had been vacant for some time) in Caribou. We are looking to speak with the owner(s) for obvious reasons.”

According to the Daily News, police are holding the dog until an animal welfare officer can take it to the Central Aroostook Humane Society for treatment.

Police said that the dog might belong to people suspected to be homeless that may have been in the home while it was empty.

“We suspect that they were squatting [in the home],” officer Douglas Bell told the Daily News.

If the owner is located, they could face a range of animal cruelty charges depending on the severity of the animal’s condition, according to WGME.

The dog had not “been properly cared for in quite some time,” the Caribou Police Department said