NEWARK — The dramatic saga of Patrick, the one-year-old pit bull rescued from an apartment dumpster last month, has caused an outpouring of donations but has also prompted scams.

"The story of Patrick alone is heartbreaking, but the fact that people are trying to profit from this travesty is just despicable," Roseann Trezza, executive director of the state Associated Humane Societies, said this week in a statement.

Some groups and out-of-state shelters are cashing in by using Patrick’s image to lead donors to believe their contributions will go toward the rescued pit bull, she said.

Trezza’s organization is urging donors to beware of solicitors using the dog’s image on T-shirts or artwork, or out-of-state shelters trying to cash in on Patrick’s popularity.

"It really, really hit a nerve with most people seeing the photographs," shelter director Bruce Sanchez said, of the dog who has gained 9 pounds since he arrived weighing just 19 pounds. "So many people wanted to see him survive."

Patrick was found March 16 starved and near death in a trash compactor at the Garden Spires in Newark. Humane society officials rushed Patrick to the Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton Falls, where he has been slowly recovering.

The dog’s owner Kisha Curtis has been charged with animal cruelty. She recently posted bail for $1,000.

The AHS accepts donations for its work, but Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton Falls, where Patrick is hospitalized, has stopped taking donations for the dog because it received so many. Both organizations devoted time and expense to Patrick.

Previous coverage:

• Newark woman is charged in pit bull abuse case

• N.J. group's animal rescuer hopes abused pit bull's story will act as cautionary tale

• Newark woman is charged in pit bull abuse case

• VIDEO: Patrick, 1-year-old pit bull, makes recovery at Tinton Falls animal hospital

• GALLERY: Patrick slowly recovers at animal hospital

• Tinton Falls animal hospital helps abused dog found in Newark garbage chute