A North Carolina animal worker faces charges after scooping up abandoned pup spotted on porch camera during a freezing snowstorm.
Ring footage captured a frightened female labradoodle being discarded onto a Wilson County porch while winter temperatures plunged, placing the moment on the radar of veterinary technician and groomer Dason Garner who quickly intervened.
Garner gathered the tangled and neglected animal from the street and transported it home while alerting animal control.
Deputies with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office eventually identified Ashley Baker as the person visible leaving the dog and filed charges tied to the abandonment while also directing scrutiny toward Garner’s actions.
NEW: North Carolina woman charged after taking in a stray dog she saw being dumped in the street during a snowstorm
Dason Garner, a vet tech and groomer, saw a Ring video of a labradoodle being dumped on a porch in 21°F
She picked up the dog, took her home, and contacted animal… pic.twitter.com/p1KEmLLjE1
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 4, 2026
Garner declined instructions to deliver the dog to a shelter because the animal appeared severely neglected, arguing her professional judgment shaped that decision.
“In her condition, [and] as a vet tech and as a groomer, I don’t foresee her coming like that,” Garner insisted while defending the call.
“She wouldn’t stand a chance in a shelter,” she continued, pushing back on the expectation she surrender the animal immediately.
Authorities later moved forward with accusations against her after alleging she repeatedly refused to relinquish the dog.
The timeline accelerated when Garner located the original owner less than a day after the rescue and learned the animal had been missing for months, complicating the narrative surrounding the recovery.
Charges were ultimately applied to both women, placing Garner in a position she described as financially draining while navigating legal consequences.
“I’m baffled. I’m confused. I have a lot of hard feelings right now. Unexpected court costs [and] lawyers’ fees, all of this adds up,” she vented as she described mounting stress.
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Garner noted the personal pressure tied to supporting her two-year-old son and reentering the workforce while confronting expenses tied to the case, yet maintained she would do it all over if confronted again with an animal in distress.
She was also fired from her position at a Hick’s Animal Clinic on Wednesday due to her actions while saving the dog.
“My reputation has been damaged, my character questioned, and my compassion, something I have always been proud of, used against me. It hurts deeply to be labeled a criminal for choosing empathy over indifference,” she wrote on Facebook.
“Knowing that this act of mercy has been twisted into wrongdoing has shattered my sense of fairness and justice,” she added.
Similar disputes over animal intervention decisions have surfaced elsewhere, including a Michigan courtroom episode involving veterinarian Amanda Hergenreder that drew penalties after she removed a dog belonging to a homeless man.
A Grand Rapids judge imposed a 10-day jail sentence and restitution following a misdemeanor larceny conviction tied to taking the mixed pit bull, rejecting a proposal seeking community service.
Hergenreder encountered the aging dog tied near a U-Haul while attending a conference and confirmed through nearby employees the animal belonged to Chris Hamilton before departing with it roughly 30 minutes later.
Before transporting the dog, she phoned local authorities seeking guidance and received ambiguous feedback captured in a recording shared by counsel.
“I can’t give you advice or anything like that, but, um, just do what you gotta do,” an intern responded during the exchange, prompting her to probe further about consequences.
“I mean, if I were to give you any advice or anything like that, um, which I technically can’t. I would state the neglect the dog was in and that you thought it was abandoned,” the intern added while continuing the conversation.
Hergenreder later thanked the caller, contacted a shelter, and relocated the frail animal she renamed Biggby, eventually performing thousands of dollars in medical procedures addressing a rotted tooth and urinary infection before keeping him at her residence.
Hamilton countered with emotional testimony about losing the companion he called Vinny, recounting personal anguish triggered by the separation.
“My health really went downhill after she stole him. … I used to cry thinking about losing my dog while I had him. He’s my dog. We were best friends,” he declared when speaking of the experience.
Authorities determined the dog had not suffered cruelty and maintained possession by Hergenreder constituted theft.
“I explained to her Kent County Animal Control was aware of this situation and had conducted an investigation of the dog,” the officer noted within his report, continuing with detail.
“They deemed the dog was good to be with Christopher and cleared him of any animal cruelty,” the officer continued.
“I told her Animal Control would be conducting an investigation once Christopher was reunited with the dog and that it would take time to determine the best care for Christopher’s dog,” the statement concluded.
“I reminded [her attorney] that Amanda had committed larceny and was now in possession of stolen property.”
Tensions between public intervention and law enforcement officials also surfaced in North Carolina when a viral parking lot confrontation drew disciplinary action against a police officer after a citizen intervened with a dog inside a hot vehicle.
Suzanne Vella entered an unlocked car to provide water to the panting animal following unsuccessful attempts to locate the owner, later defending her actions in stark terms.
“I was really concerned because I know it only takes a few minutes for dogs to go into heat stroke. It was a 90 degree day,” she explained, pressing urgency into the record.
“It wasn’t even a decision, I knew,” she added while explaining her reasoning.
An officer arriving at the location challenged her conduct in recorded footage by asking, “What right do you think you have to open someone’s door?”
Department officials later reviewed the encounter after the video circulated widely, resulting in suspension without pay and removal from K9 handling duties while leadership acknowledged the exchange failed to align with internal standards for interacting with the public.
Authorities also reviewed potential charges against the vehicle owner and determined no probable cause supported cruelty accusations.
