Dog found in cage left to drown at water’s edge

A 1-year-old pit bull was found by a nearby resident who was walking their dog at 6:15 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.

Their dog alerted to the cage, which was on a small portion of sand between a bulkhead and the water and had reached the cage, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said.

Investigators believe the dog was placed there between 4 and 6 a.m., based on the tide schedule.

The dog was taken to the Highlands Police Department, which called animal control.

"If not for the heroic rescue act of the good Samaritan, the dog could have potentially drowned," the county prosecutor's office said in a statement on Facebook.