A Langley man got more than paint when he stopped at Home Depot in Lynnwood recently.

Instead of a gallon of “ceiling white,” Greg McKell, brought home a sweet-faced, 60-pound shepherd mix dog.

He found the dog crawling on its belly, dodging cars in the busy parking lot Sunday evening about 7:30 p.m.

“The dog was attempting to stay out of the way of cars zooming in and out of the large parking lot. No one seemed to notice him, or care about his fate,” McKell said.

“I tried walking up to the poor animal, but he was so frightened he crawled away from me. I was afraid I would make things worse,” McKell said.

McKell tried unsuccessfully to lure the dog with chicken nuggets from a nearby fast food restaurant.

“The dog seemed interested, but still wouldn’t let me get close to him.”

Finally, out of desperation and fear for the dog’s safety, McKell ran up and grabbed the dog with both arms.

“I didn’t know if the dog would bite. He was obviously very frightened, and he seemed to be in pain,” McKell recalled.

McKell pulled his own sweater over his head, to protect his face and grabbed the dog.

“He just went limp in my arms. It was heartbreaking,” he said.

The sad story worsened, though. The dog appeared to have a large tumor.

“When I called the Everett animal shelter that night and described the situation, shelter officials said the dog probably would not see a veterinarian, and if he did have a tumor, he would be euthanized rather than treated.”

“I knew I couldn’t let that happen,” McKell said.

McKell brought the dog home to Whidbey Island. He shares his home with Cheryl Sagmeister and their two rescued dogs, Clifford and Grace.

The couple named the parking lot dog Otis.

Sagmeister bathed and brushed the dog, who seemed to get along great with Clifford and Grace.

McKell then took Otis to see veterinarian. Dr. David Parent who was dismayed at what he found.

Otis didn’t have a tumor. He was suffering from what looked like a “home castration” attempt.

“Someone had tied a band around his scrotum. It had probably been there for a week or so,” Parent said.

Surprisingly, the dog’s demeanor doesn’t appear hurt by his bad care.

“He seemed like a very sweet dog, who will make a nice pet for someone,” Parent said.

That’s when Whidbey Animal Improvement Foundation stepped in. WAIF found a surgeon and agreed to take Otis in.

McKell and Sagmesiter recounted the story this week while they were visiting Otis at the WAIF shelter. They even brought their two dogs along for the visit with Otis.

McKell’s eyes tear up as strokes the canine’s head, remembering the animal’s ordeal.

“It was amazing the way people just walked past this poor thing, blared their horns at him to get out of the way,” he said.

McKell is thankful for the help he got for Otis on Whidbey Island.

“Once the Coupeville animal rescue organization understood what the situation was, they were willing to take him,” McKell said.

Penn Cove Veterinary Clinic neutered Otis and put him on antibiotics. He is expected to be ready for adoption next week.

McKell says if Otis doesn’t find a good home in a week or so, they will take him and keep him as a foster pet him until a good home is found.

“We have a pretty full house. But after everything Otis has been through, I want to do everything I can to find him a good home,” McKell said.

“He is such a good guy, he deserves a home where he will receive lots of unconditional love,” he said.