( CNN ) -- It was five days before Christmas , and luckily for Gem the puppy , the creature was stirring on the trash-sorting conveyor belt . Workers at a trash- and recyclables-sorting facility in San Francisco found the poodle mix in a trash bag among other discarded material Friday evening -- just in time , because it was about to drop into a pile bound for a landfill , CNN affiliate KTVU reported . The discovery likely saved the apricot pup 's life . `` We could tell the puppy was still moving , and it was trying to crawl out of the bag itself , '' Gregory Foster , a material handler at the Recology facility , told KTVU . `` Luckily we stopped the line in time before it actually fell off the belt into the pit . '' The dog , believed to be a few months old , apparently was put in a bin of trash that Recology collected and drove to the facility . It was then put on the conveyor belt , where workers separate recyclables from landfill-bound trash , KTVU reported . The puppy was suffering from what appeared to be animal bites , San Francisco Animal Care and Control said . It had wounds to the neck , head and ears , CNN affiliate KGO reported . The animal control department named the puppy , noting it was a `` precious little gem '' among the trash , department Capt . Le-Ellis Brown told KGO . The department said it is trying to determine who the puppy 's owner was , how it was injured and how it got into the trash . Veterinarians will help the puppy heal before it is put up for adoption , KGO reported .
Puppy found on trash conveyor belt at San Francisco trash-sorting facility . `` Luckily we stopped the line in time , '' worker tells CNN affiliate KTVU . Dog suffering from bite marks . Animal control department trying to find owner .