Then he heard it again.
A soft, broken whimper coming from behind the cart return near the dumpsters.
Daniel grabbed his flashlight and walked toward the sound carefully.
The beam swept across rusted carts, wet concrete, and overflowing trash bags.
Then it landed on something small curled beneath a shopping cart.
For a second, Daniel froze.
It was a puppy.
Tiny.
Motionless except for the faint rise and fall of his ribs.
A dirty rope was tied tightly around his neck, securing him to the metal cart frame like someone had left behind garbage they didn’t want anymore.
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