Elderly dogs dumped from truck in SC, one suffers a broken leg. Then came the bystanders

The original names of two yellow Labrador retrievers who were dumped out of a truck last week in Greenville aren’t known to their rescuers.

For now, they’re called Macaroni and Cheese. A male and female.

They both have heart worms. Cheese, the female, was hit by the fleeing truck and suffered a broken leg. They are so tightly bonded Macaroni did not leave Cheese’s side.

Their fates could have been much different.

But witnesses saw what happened and called animal control. Officers picked them up and took Macaroni to the Greenville County Animal Care shelter and Cheese to Upstate Vet Emergency and Speciality Care.

The labs are probably about 9 years old. They’re considered elderly — yellow and black labs live between 10 and 12 years, chocolate about 10 — but there was something about the dogs and their circumstances that caused folks at the privately funded Greenville Humane Society to go get them.

Upstate Vet set Cheese’s leg and heart worm treatment began.

“Cost was no concern to our team – we just knew she was in pain and desperately needed it repaired to avoid further complications, especially given her old age,” the Humane Society said in a Facebook post.

The Humane Society is in the midst of constructing a dog kennel and they’ve treated 1,250 injured or sick animals so far this year, they said, causing them to conduct a separate fundraising effort for Mac and Cheese, they said on Facebook.

“This was obviously not planned,” the post said, adding, “Heartbreaking cases like these come to us often. We try not to ask for help unless we’re desperate… and that’s where we are.”

The cost for caring for the dogs is estimated at $6,500.

Here’s how to help: www.greenvillehumane.com/donate and choose ‘Macaroni and Cheese’ as Donation Type, Venmo to @greenvillehumanesociety, mail a donation to 305 Airport Road, Greenville,

This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 4:12 PM.