PHILADELPHIA – A tiny Yorkshire terrier was abandoned and left her to die outside the Pennsylvania SPCA’s headquarters in Philadelphia over the weekend.

The PSPCA said the dog, named Gertie by the staff, was left inside a plastic container with the lid on. The outside temperature at the time was over 90 degrees.

“An attentive volunteer saw the container and opened it up to find Gertie inside,” the PSPCA wrote on its Facebook page. “Gertie was covered with fleas and a coating of flea dirt, but otherwise spunky and strong. We named her Gertie because Gertude means “spear of strength.”

It’s not clear how long Gertie had been inside the container before the volunteer found her.

“[You] don’t leave your dogs in the car, don’t leave your kids in the car, so why leave a dog in a plastic container? It’s just as hot,” Gillian Kocher, of the PSPCA, told ABC station WPVI. “If her owners couldn’t take of her, there are other options.”

Gertie reportedly weighed just four pounds. The staff is hoping to get her weight back up to six or seven pounds before they begin looking for a new home. They’re still looking for the person who abandoned her.