Bruna may not have much time left.

A nearly 15-year-old Boston terrier, Bruna was already blind, deaf and with weakened legs before the dog's owner abandoned her in Teterboro last week. An abscess that developed on Bruna's rear-end shows that its owner likely roughly forced the dog from a car, animal shelter staff said.

Bruna's time is not up yet, though. The dog was treated at Bergen County Animal Shelter and Friday was taken to Pet ResQ in Tenafly to live out the rest of her days.

"She wasn’t meant to leave this Earth yet," Bergen County Animal Shelter Director Debbie Yankow said.

Tania Connelly, 59, of Fort Lee was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly abandoning Bruna and will appear in court Sept. 20, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Bruna was abandoned on Industrial Avenue in Teterboro Saturday and later found in the parking lot of a nearby Walmart. Yankow called it miraculous that a blind and deaf dog made the nearly one-mile trek to Walmart without further harm.

Yankow did not want to pass judgement on Bruna's former owner, but said it's sad for the animal shelter staff to see.

"There are times when there are good excuses for surrendering a dog, which we understand," she said, "but there’s also an underlying feeling of pets are almost discard-able. They’re not part of your family like they should be."

Bruna making the most of life

On Friday as she prepared to leave the Bergen County Animal Shelter, Bruna wore a pink handkerchief around her neck. Bruna has white fur at the center of her head, and not just because of advanced age, but mostly a black coat except for her chest and belly, plus socks on her front paws.

"She's shy but very sweet," Yankow said.

Bruna had plenty of attention during her short stay at Bergen County Animal Shelter. She ate well but does not move around much. Bruna walked on her own Friday toward a pink bed set up for her without too much difficulty.

Despite cloudy eyes that no longer see, Yankow said Bruna does not run into things often.

Given her age and medical needs, Bruna is not considered adoptable, Yankow said. The shelter director knew she did not want to waste any more of Bruna's time, so she was glad to find a quick resolution and Pet ResQ.

What's next for Bruna?

"Let's hope we get more than a few weeks," Robyn Urman, founder of Pet ResQ, said while holding Bruna at the Bergen County Animal Shelter.

Urman, a well-known animal activist in North Jersey, said she will do whatever she can to make Bruna comfortable. That includes acupuncture, which she said she has planned.

When Urman arrived at the shelter, both she and Yankow noticed that Bruna seemed calmer. Bruna's tongue hung out in the happy panting sort of way dogs do when content.

"I love the oldies," Urman said of elder dogs. "The oldies are easy."

Bruna did start to shake a bit when surrounded by cameras briefly, but was no worse for wear.

Pet ResQ will also accept donations for Bruna.

Urman and Yankow credited the power of social media for Bruna's second chance. Someone posted a picture of the car allegedly owned by Connelly to spread the word, and a good Samaritan eventually found Bruna at Walmart.

The proximity of Industrial Avenue to the Bergen County Animal Shelter still left the local activists in disbelief, though they acknowledged Bruna's former owner may not have known how close it was.

"I don't understand people," Urman said. "It's a throwaway society. That's the worst part."

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com

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