A dog in Kerala was abandoned by her owner over an “illicit relationship” she had developed with a neighborhood pooch.

The white Pomeranian dog, about three years old, was found abandoned outside the World Market in Chackai, Thiruvananthapuram, reports The News Minute.

People For Animals (PFA) volunteer, Shameem, who rescued the dog, said she was shocked to find a note tied to the dog that read “It is a very good dog. Good habits. Do not need a lot of food. No illnesses. She’s given a bath every five days. She only barks - in three years, she has not bitten anyone. She has mostly fed milk, biscuits and eggs.”

The unidentified owner sought to justify the action by claiming that the dog was “being abandoned because she was found to have illicit relationship with a dog in the neighbourhood.”

Shameem said she took the dog home and put her in a kennel. “She is really nice, someone would adopt her soon. But there is a really hopeful look on her face, expecting that her owner would come to pick her up,” the PFA volunteer was quoted as saying.

“The dog is in heat,” Shameem said. “And that’s what dogs do when they are in heat – they mate. If the weird owner didn’t want the dog to breed, there is sterilisation. But if they wanted her to be a ‘virgin’, they would have to lock her up in a room.”

Shameem said although dogs are usually abandoned due to injury or sickness, this was the first time she had seen a dog abandoned for an “illicit relationship.”