Earlier this week we brought you the maddening story of Zuzu, the dog reportedly abandoned by her owners for being “too sad” after the death of their other dog.
Zuzu – formerly named Princess – had begun to cry and display signs of depression. She scaled the fence and was picked up by animal control on Thanksgiving morning and brought to an LA County shelter.
It may sound like a common enough tale so far, but what sets Zuzu’s story apart is what happened after she arrived at the shelter. Some of the staff at the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control shelter in Downey were working with Zuzu in an outdoor area to assess her reaction to other dogs.
Suddenly Zuzu “lit up like a Christmas tree” as a group of people approached the shelter. It was Zuzu’s family and she was beyond ecstatic to see them. At first shelter volunteers were touched by the moving scene. Trainer Janay Chapin told DailyMail.com:
“Zuzu was kind of shut down and as soon as she saw her owners she suddenly came to life,”
A viral video posted to Facebook and viewed more than 125,000 times showed Zuzu wagging her tail and happily barking, sure that the only family she had ever known was there to bring her home. In reality, they were not there to retrieve Zuzu, they were there to replace her.
Zuzu’s story inspired heartbreak and outrage from across the country. Thousands of animal lovers expressed their concern and offered to adopt the lovely German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix.
Thanks to the publicity, Zuzu has now been pulled from the over-crowded county shelter and is in the care of a private no-kill rescue. Dozens of interested parties are already lining up to adopt her. Zuzu has been described as healthy, obedient and well-behaved – a shoe-in for a loving home to call her own.
Shelter staff gave the abandoned dog the name Zuzu after George Bailey’s adorable daughter in the holiday film, It’s A Wonderful Life. Thanks to the caring people who helped rescue her and the outcry from the public, that is exactly what Zuzu will now have!
Zuzu’s former owners did not find the breed they wanted and left the shelter without a new dog.
Featured Image via Shelter Me
H/T to Daily Mail
