DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Animal rescue officials in Iowa are asking for the public’s help in tracking down whoever tossed an emaciated dog trapped in a kennel into a trash bin. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa says in a news release Friday that a passerby found the Chihuahua Nov. 2 in a dumpster in Des Moines’ River Bend neighborhood and took the starving dog to Animal Rescue League.

Vets there say the dog, dubbed “Oscar,” weighed just 4 pounds and was suffering from a loss of muscle mass and fur as well as intestinal parasites. His fur was stained from being caged in his own filth for a long period.

The League says Oscar is recovering and regained 25 percent of his body weight in the first two days of treatment.