There is a break in the case which involved a dog being abandoned with a shoddy wooden dog house alongside a road in Watsonville, California. On Saturday, the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter publicly announced that the person believed to be responsible for the dog’s abandonment has been identified.

According to the shelter, the dog, named Pebbles, had an embedded microchip with information which led investigators to her prior owner. The person identified on the microchip was someone known to animal control officials – it took some time to track him down, but some sleuthing eventually led them to him. The shelter stated:

Through persistence and community outreach, Officer Padilla was able to contact the male subject, and discovered he had given Pebbles to Ruben Guerrero approximately one year ago when he became homeless.

Officer Padilla made contact with Guerrero on February 21 – at that time, it was confirmed that Guerrero had left Pebbles alongside the road with her dog house. The man was formally charged with “Willful Abandonment of an Animal” today.

Pebbles is up for adoption and looking for a forever home.

Prior article about Pebbles here.

(Image via Facebook)