A North Carolina veterinary technician has been fired and charged after rescuing a dog left out in freezing winter weather — but refusing to turn it over to animal control.
Dason Garner says she’s been left 'completely broken' after facing charges for keeping a stray dog, failing to surrender it, and obstructing law enforcement, WRAL reports.
Garner says she’s being punished for an act of compassion after rescuing the dog from brutal winter conditions following a fierce snowstorm that swept through Wilson, NC, over the weekend.
On January 31, 2026, after a fierce snowstorm hit North Carolina, Dason Garner rescued an abandoned dog — with her 2-year-old son by her side. GoFundMe
The now-former vet tech watched doorbell footage showing a person — later identified as Ashley Baker — approach a neighbor’s porch, leave the shaggy dog, and quickly scurry away, according to video obtained by the outlet.
“I was only trying to help a dog who was suffering, cold, and in need. I acted out of compassion, instinct, and love for an animal that could not help itself,” Garner wrote on Facebook Tuesday.
“To now be wrongfully charged for doing what I believed was the right thing has caused deep emotional pain that I carry now,” she said. “Being punished for trying to protect a vulnerable dog has left me feeling devastated, confused, and betrayed by a system that was supposed to value life and kindness.”
The storm — a powerful bomb cyclone, or 'bombogenesis' — slammed the Tar Heel State, dumping more cold and snow across the region, with Wilson recording over 11 inches, CBS17 reports.
Garner took in the "sweet" dog and called animal control to report the abandoned pet — only to be told she had to bring it in for an investigation, WRAL reported.
Ashley Baker was charged with animal abandonment after being caught on camera allegedly leaving a dog on a stranger’s front porch. Ring
She refused the order, insisting that, with her expertise, her home was the safest place for the abandoned dog.
“In her condition, (and) as a vet tech and as a groomer, I don’t foresee her coming like that,” Garner said. “She wouldn’t stand a chance in a shelter.
“It’s very heartbreaking,” she said. “I don’t understand how you can do that [to] something so lovable. She was so sweet.”
Garner eventually tracked down the dog’s rightful owner — missing for more than two months — reuniting them with their beloved pup.
Baker has now been charged with animal abandonment.
Dason Garner says she was fired from an animal clinic in nearby Rocky Mount, NC, simply for saving the dog. GoFundMe
Garner says the aftermath of rescuing the dog has taken a serious mental toll, leaving her with constant anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
"My reputation has been damaged, my character questioned, and my compassion, something I have always been proud of, used against me. It hurts deeply to be labeled a criminal for choosing empathy over indifference," she wrote, adding that her actions weren’t driven by malice or selfishness, but by the simple refusal to let the dog suffer.
“Knowing that this act of mercy has been twisted into wrongdoing has shattered my sense of fairness and justice,” she said.
Garner revealed on Wednesday that she was fired from a Rocky Mount, NC, animal clinic — all for doing what she felt was right: saving the dog.
Garner, a mother of a 2-year-old, says she now faces court and lawyer fees just as she’s getting back to work, even though police told her multiple times to turn the dog over to animal control, the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office told WRAL.
Garner stands by her decision to save the dog, saying without her intervention, it would have surely perished.
“What hurts the most is that I would make the same choice again if it meant saving a life, yet I am now left carrying the emotional scars of being punished for doing what my conscience demanded,” she wrote.
