Confused German shepherd found tied to enormous rock and abandoned in middle of road

Published: 15:08, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 15:15, 18 May 2026 A confused German shepherd was left tied to a 60 lb cinder block and abandoned outside during a nasty Oregon storm. The helpless animal was found in the middle of the road in the town of Woodburn last week. Local police officers received a call early Wednesday morning, and found the dog tethered to the rock near the 600 block of Willow Avenue. It came after the area was hit by heavy rain, thunder and 20 mph winds during a storm the night before.  Officers safely rescued the animal and gave him food and water before taking him to the Marion County Dog Shelter for further care.  Now Woodburn Police (WPD) are turning to the public for help to figure out how the dog came to be abandoned. 'We are asking the public for help in identifying the dog or its owner' the department's Facebook post stated. 'If you have information or video surveillance footage from the area that could help investigators determine how the dog was left there, please contact WPD.' Neighbors were shocked by the cruel abandonment, with one man recalling the heartbreaking moment he realized the pooch was stuck. A dog was found tethered to a cinder block in the middle of the road in Woodburn, Oregon Michael Bartone told KOIN 6 News he heard a noise that stopped him in his tracks.  'I looked out my window here and saw a dog in the road pulling a big cinder block behind him,' he told the outlet.  Bartone was extremely worried about the canine, so he brought out food and water and sat with him. He hoped his owner would come fetch him - but they never did.   'I’m a dog guy, I was worried. He’s on a four-foot tether on a cinder block that’s 50-60 pounds,' Bartone told the outlet.  'Not a safe situation for a dog, and it was stuck between the wheel and the sidewalk on the road. 'Also not good for a dog to be on the road stuck. So I wanted to make sure it was safe,' he added. Resident Michael Bartone said he heard the dog whimpering before spotting him in the road at the 600 block of Willow Avenue The dog is believed to be a male German Shepherd aged around seven years old While there have been no formal updates, the Marion County Dog Shelter did share on their website that a male German shepherd, around seven years old, was picked up on the same day in Woodburn.  'The dog was in good shape, like it didn’t seem malnourished, very friendly,' Bartone added.  'So I know that it probably has an owner somewhere looking for him. I just hope they get reunited.' The Daily Mail reached out to Woodburn Police and Marion County Shelter for comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.