ELKHART — Lucky the puppy is playful, healthy and, most of all, happy, but none of this was true about the 3-month-old Jack Russell chihuahua mix when Wendy Metzger found him abandoned near the Elkhart Municipal Airport.

Metzger has been nursing the puppy back to health since discovering him in June near C.R. 7. She works for the city of Elkhart and was picking up trash and mowing the lawn near the airport when she noticed a white blanket sprawled on the ground and wicker picnic basket tipped over near the woods.

“I walked toward the woods, and he was just sitting there next to a tree and whining,” Metzger said. “I picked him up and tried giving him some water. He was thirsty, and when I sat him all the way down, he just squealed.”

Metzger knew the puppy was in pain, so she hopped in her truck and brought him to Animal Aid Clinic North on C.R. 6. She explained to the veterinarian that she found the dog and didn't have much money to pay for his medical bills. The vet gave Lucky a flea bath, got him up to date on his shots and placed a cast on his back right leg.

Lucky is continuing his recovery at Metzger's home in Elkhart where he has plenty to eat and a pile of toys and stuffed animals to keep him busy.

“I love dogs, and he's really sweet,” Metzger said. “I'm a big animal lover.”

Metzger's parents, Dan and Audrey Metzger, have also grown attached to Lucky.

“He's a good dog,” Metzger's mother said. “And something needs to be done about whoever left him like that.”

Summer is one of the Humane Society of Elkhart County's busiest seasons of the year, assistant director Rachel Dennis said.

“People are finding animals everywhere,” she explained. “They're finding kittens under their homes, in their sheds and anywhere possible.”

Just a few weeks ago, a kitten, later named Hefty, was found at the Elkhart County landfill. Hefty is living in Dennis' office along with another kitten, Flush, that was rescued from a sewer drain in Elkhart.

Dennis estimated that eight out of every 10 people who surrender their pets do so because they have lost their jobs and no longer have the means to care for them. But some people, for one reason or another, decide to abandon litters of kittens and puppies in random places, she said.

“I just want people to know that if they feel like they can't take care of their animals, that's why we're here,” Dennis said.