It’s always unfortunate to have to give up a pet. But sometimes, life gets in the way and you simply can’t take care of them anymore. All you can do is try to find them a better home.
Months ago, a dog was found by a shelter, abandoned for a heartbreaking reason. Unfortunately, she still hasn’t yet found a home, but hasn’t given up hope.
It was January 2 at the Delaware Humane Association, and the year got off to a surprising start with an unexpected arrival: a black-and-white terrier mix was found roaming around the shelter, wearing an oversized spiked harness.
The dog was greatly underweight and covered in fleas. No one knew where the dog had come from or who she belonged to.
But then they discovered a heartbreaking note attached that explained everything.
“Please take care of Sky,” the note said. “She is 6 years old and friendly. I couldn’t take care of her. I became homeless and couldn’t feed her. She is not sick, just hungry, very friendly. Please find her a home. Please.”
The shelter was shocked, and wrote about Sky on their Facebook page, calling the poor dog “one of [their] most heartbreaking souls yet.”
While abandoning a dog on its own is not the recommended course—it’s better to surrender your dog officially—the owner clearly didn’t have the means to take care of the dog, and the important thing is she’s safe.
“While we have all the questions in the world, we are just thankful this sweetheart made it to us before it was too late,” the Delaware Humane Society wrote. “We can’t imagine this was easy for her former owner, so please refrain from expressing any negative thoughts you may have.”
The humane society took the dog in and gave her the care she desperately needed. Most importantly, they needed to get her weight back up. According to Delaware Online, Sky only weighed 30 pounds, making her 20 pounds underweight.
“It appears just to be that she wasn’t being fed the proper amount,” director of animal care Flanagan Bruni told Delaware Online.
She was also treated by a veterinarian for parasites. But otherwise, her spirits were up, and the shelter was optimistic her health would improve:
“She’s doing great,” Bruni said. “She’s very sweet, very friendly.”
Slowly Sky got back up to weight so she could be spayed and put up for adoption. Her story went viral with hundreds of shares on Facebook. Sympathetic strangers reached out with money and supply donations.
Eventually, Sky did find a family to adopt her. Unfortunately, however, things did not work out.
Sky is understandably anxious and has some behavioral issues that not every home is equipped to handle, and despite trying to make things work, the family gave Sky back to the humane society.
“She became too protective of the home for the amount of visitors they continually had over,” Delaware Humane Society wrote on Facebook this month.
Sky is now in need of a new forever home. There are a few things to keep in mind: Sky cannot be in a home with cats, and does not do well in crates.
Despite these difficulties, Sky is said to be a wonderful, fun dog.
“Through it all, she has been nothing but sweet and loving,” the shelter wrote. “Even at 6-years-old, she is FULL of personality and loves to show off her bouncy, goofy antics.”
If you are in the Delaware area and can give Sky a good home, contact the Delaware Humane Society for more info!
Let’s help give this poor dog a long-overdue happy ending. Share this story!