A group of residents and animal advocates concerned about the welfare of a dog in Carbon County plan to rally together in Lehighton.

The group will meet For Duke: No Dog Left Behind, at 7:30 p.m. Monday at The Grove. The rainout location is the E.C. Bethany Church, 222 N. St., Lehighton.

Margaret Allen, who along with Annette Tenisci, created the Facebook group For Duke: No Dog Left Behind, said Duke is a less-than-a-year-old Saint Bernard that’s currently housed in nonoptimal conditions in Carbon County.

Allen said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss animal abuse legislation in the state, and to mobilize to advocate for better dog abuse legislation standards that include injury from heat and enclosure.

“It’s more of a meeting to discuss the lack of animal protection laws and neglect,” Allen said. “We thought it was going to be small, and then it just grew and grew and everybody jumped on board.”

Allen said the current lack of consistent staffing and enforcement in Carbon County will also be a key issue, Allen said.

“There’s many laws that have to be put in place,” she said. “If there was a paid amount for animal protection officer, we would have more of them than one in this county.”

Allen said Cpl. Mike Spada, animal abuse officer for the Pennsylvania State Police, and Chris Lukasevich, Carbon County Commissioner candidate, will support and contribute to this discussion.

For additional information on this meeting, contact Allen or Tenisci on Facebook.