Dog Abandoned at Shelter with Heartbreaking Note from Owner

By Amanda Thomason January 7, 2019 at 5:37pm

It’s easy for us pet lovers to wonder how heartless and cruel a person would have to be to dump a dog or cat, leaving it to fend for itself. If our pets are part of our families, it would be like dropping off a family member somewhere and abandoning them.

Many of us can’t even imagine a situation where we would hand over our animals, swearing up and down that even if we were reduced to nothing, we’d fight to put food in our pet’s mouth before our own.

But if you were in that situation, starving, homeless, and unable to feed your dog, what would you do? The shame of being in such a state and the helplessness of having no money to ensure your dog will be taken in somewhere might lead you to take desperate measures.

As best as the Delaware Humane Society can figure, that’s the story behind Sky, a skinny pit bull dropped off on their property at the beginning of the year. She was wandering around, with nothing to her name but her harness and a note wrapped up inside a plastic bag.

“With each New Year comes new challenges and on our second day in, we welcomed one of our most heartbreaking souls yet,” the Delaware Humane Society wrote on Facebook. “This skinny-mini’s name is Sky and she was discovered yesterday morning by one of our easy-going dogs, who barked alarmingly at one of the normally uneventful corners of our property.”

The note left with the pup was sad and simple. “Please take care of Sky,” it read. “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.”

“We can’t imagine this was easy for her former owner, so please refrain from expressing any negative thoughts you may have,” the shelter encouraged. “We are hopeful Sky’s condition improves and her spirits remain high. The most important thing is, she is safe with us.”

Fortunately, many commenters have been able to put themselves in the owner’s shoes and understand that whatever the background story details may be, turning over a beloved pet is never easy, and there’s a good chance that the decision to relinquish Sky was heartbreaking for her former owner.

The humane society has even sent someone out into a nearby homeless shelter to try to ascertain whether or not the owner is still in the area, and if so, to offer assistance.

“If the owner were to contact us, we would be willing to work with them to reunite them, but it would depend on the situation and the owner’s circumstances,” a post explained. “Sometimes, the best option is to surrender a pet if you are unable to care for them, which includes shelter. If any area homeless shelters know of this person, we encourage them to reach out to us.”

Many people who have read the story have also offered to help the owner pay for food if he or she is able to take Sky back. Sky is a healthy pup other than being very skinny. Ideally, she would weigh 20 pounds more, but the shelter is working on it.

If no owner steps forward by Monday, Jan. 7, Sky will be put into foster care where she can gain weight and then be spayed and put up for adoption — but thanks to the coverage her story has received, there’s currently no shortage of adoption requests for this special girl.

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