Occurred on March 9, 2018 / St. Louis, Missouri, USA Info from Licensor: "We got a call that a man had purchased a house in North City and there was a pitbull chained up in the basement. It was not a good part of town as most of the homes on the street are boarded up. Apparently, there had been a squatter staying in the house with no rights to the home, nor renting it. He sent a friend to the house to let us in. We walked through the cold, dark house with our flashlights because there was no power. The man led us to the basement door. He didn’t know if the dog was friendly and didn’t know how long it had been down there. When we opened the door, we were greeted by a dog wiggling all over, so excited to us. Jumping Bean was actually in pretty good condition. She was a little thin, but not emaciated. She appears to have had puppies before and was not spayed. She also has heartworms which will need to be treated. We walked down to the basement to see where she had been living. There was actually a lot of fecal matter in the basement, suggesting she had been down there for some time. It was completely dark. Her chain was short and we didn’t see any food or water bowls. She was so excited to us! We walked down the steps and she couldn’t stop wiggling and trying to greet us. She was being choked by her chain. We offered her some treats to lure her back down a few steps so we could get the chain off from around her neck. We hope that people learn that dogs are not property, they are family. Animal shelters across the globe have found ways to help families stay together in all sorts of circumstances. There are resources out there if you need help. We named her Jumping Bean because she was so excited to be off of her chain. She was jumping all over the place, jumping up to give her rescuers kisses and rubbing her body on any surface she could reach. It was as if she was saying “I am not to be ignored! I am a living, breathing soul!” We named her Jumping Bean due to her excitement. It fit her perfectly. We think she is 3 years old. Jumping Bean is at Stray Rescue of St. Louis where she is receiving lots of love and attention! She is waiting for her forever family to come and adopt her!"