(CBS) – Police in Riverside are trying to find the owner of a malnourished male pit bull that was abandoned in a parking lot Wednesday evening.
It was between zero and 5 degrees when the pit bull was out in the cold, abandoned in his cage in the parking lot of the MacNeal Professional Building in Riverside.
Police Chief Tom Weitzel says the circumstances are unusual.
“It’s the first case I can remember where the dog was left in a cage — with a name and food,” he tells WBBM’s Steve Miller.
A pit bull named Cheff was found in a cage in Riverdale; police want to find the owner. (Riverside Police)
Weitzel says a bag of food was left on top of the cage, and there was a note around the dog’s collar saying his name was Cheff.
“The dog was extremely skinny,” the police chief says. “You can see the full ribcage on the dog. So, it has not been fed for some time.”
Chief Weitzel says Cheff is being treated at a veterinary clinic in Berwyn.
Weitzel wants to find the owner. Contact Riverside police at (708) 447-2127 or email wgutchick@riverside.il.us, if you have information.
