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10 days is not enough. A Florida man was sentenced to 10 days in jail and four years of probation after a nearly blind, 16-year-old dog named Xyla was found alive inside a trash bag in a dumpster. The senior Shih Tzu had already lost her original owners, who had died. She had passed into the care of family members when her life was placed in danger again. On Dec. 14, 2023, employees at a Family Dollar in Lehigh Acres noticed something moving inside a black trash bag in the store’s dumpster. They went to investigate. Inside the bag was Xyla, still alive, with a rope around her neck. The employees rushed her to BluePearl Pet Hospital and contacted law enforcement. What could have been dismissed as another bag of garbage became an emergency effort to save a little dog. Investigators with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office began working to find out who had put her there. Surveillance footage showed a man arriving in a blue Hyundai SUV, removing a black trash bag from the vehicle and tossing it into the dumpster before driving away. Xyla also had a microchip. That helped detectives establish who she was and investigate who had taken responsibility for her after her owners died. The investigation led them to Anthony Bellman, who was 55 at the time. Authorities said they found the same vehicle at his home and that he was wearing clothing matching the man in the footage. They also learned what he had told his family. Bellman said he was taking Xyla to the Humane Society to be euthanized. Instead, she was discovered alive among the trash. Sheriff Carmine Marceno said she could have died from suffocation or heatstroke if the employees had not found her. He credited the people who acted quickly to get her medical help. “No living thing deserves to be discarded like common trash,” he said. Xyla survived. After treatment, she went into the care of Lee County Domestic Animal Services. Officials described her as healthy and happy as they worked toward finding her a loving home. Bellman was arrested and later pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges. In October 2024, he was sentenced to 10 days in jail, followed by four years of probation. For Xyla, the rescue had begun with something much smaller than a courtroom decision. Someone noticed the bag moving. Someone stopped. And someone opened it in time. At 16 years old, with her sight failing and her original owners gone, Xyla still had a life worth protecting. The employees who found her made sure she got that chance. See less