KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Most pet owners can’t imagine abandoning their beloved animal, but two people in the Northland did, and it’s drawing a lot of criticism online and from Premiere Veterinary Care.

Security camera footage from Premiere Vet Care in northern Kansas City shows a couple abandon a puppy around 8:30 p.m. Monday in the clinic’s parking lot.

The two-minute clip shows a woman tying the puppy to a post, leaving two bowls with food and water before driving away.

For nearly 11 hours the puppy laid on the concrete until employees arrived the next morning for work.

“They thought she was deceased,” said Kristy Russell, the clinic manager. “When they went up to her, she was very much alive.”

Russell said the puppy is about 3.5 months old and weighs just eight pounds. An ideal weight for her age and breed is around 20 pounds.

She’s currently being kept in isolation where staff have given her a heated blanket and monitor her meals.

“She was malnourished to the point where she had no muscle mass left. She was using up every supply she had, and when they get that bad, they really can’t keep food down,” said Dr. Wes Cowan, a veterinarian.

He added that she likely had intestinal parasites, fleas, dehydration, and hypothermia. Fortunately, she tested negative for parvo.

“It’s hard. I haven’t slept for a couple nights. It’s hard to see that level of neglect,” added Russell, who regularly checks on the puppy to make sure she’s keeping her meals down.

Despite everything she’s been through, the puppy is very sweet and loves to give kisses and wag her tail.

Once the puppy got the care it needed Tuesday morning, the staff posted what happened on their social media page.

The hope was that the public could help them find the people who abandoned her the previous night.

Russell said four people reached out to them with information that confirmed they knew the couple in question. One of those people provided them with a phone number, which Russell immediately called to ask why they did it.

“In a way I can understand her answer, ‘She didn’t know what else to do,'” she said. “I can understand not knowing what to do if you don’t have funds and you’ve got a sick puppy, but she had a few weeks. It didn’t happen overnight.”

FOX4 also reached out to the number that Russell called but was sent to voicemail. After contacting the couple, Russell reached out to the Kansas City Police Department, who told her they couldn’t help. Instead, they referred her to KC Pet Project where she filed a report. KC Pet Project told FOX4 it has the report and is currently looking into it.

In the meantime, several people have contacted Premiere Vet Care inquiring about adopting the puppy, but she isn’t quite ready to be rehomed.

It’ll take at least another week before she regains her strength and even more time until she’s back to normal.

The veterinary office is accepting donations to help cover the cost for the animal’s care, which is unclear as of this report.

Any additional funds will likely be held over to cover expenses for other pets whose owners can’t afford it.