ANDERSON — Animal control officers entered an abandoned rental property Tuesday night and found something they’ve seen more and more each day.

Barely 10 weeks old, the pit bull-mix puppy, sick and malnourished, had been left to die by renters evicted from the property.

Anderson Animal Control Officer Kris Weaver had the task of dealing with the situation on Wednesday.

If animal control officers had found the puppy sooner, shelter workers might have been able to save the animal, he said.

Instead, Weaver was forced to euthanize the puppy Wednesday afternoon.

“He was too far gone,” said the animal control officer of six years.

As an animal control officer also certified to euthanize animals, Weaver serves double duty for the city of Anderson.

On the ends of chains he finds emaciated dogs long forgotten by their owners. He catches unwanted cats roaming neighborhoods for food and spends his days bringing animals to the shelter, only to meet them again in the medical room if they are deemed unadoptable.

“Every day is a day I don’t want to do it, but it’s something that has to be done.”

Weaver, who said he is an animal lover, admits his job is not an easy one.

Despite the challenges of making the final contact with an unwanted pet, Weaver said he was encouraged by changes at the city shelter.

In the six years he has worked for the shelter, he had seen that the emphasis of previous administrations had not been on limiting euthanasia.

Animals at the shelter have a better chance today, he said.

“The euthanasia rate is way down, more than half of what it used to be,” Weaver said.

The Herald Bulletin tried to obtain euthanasia records, but the shelter has been unable to find any that pre-date September 2008.