A few years ago, the High Plains Humane Society in New Mexico shared a devastating photo of a dog awaiting her forever home. This sweet pup had just been abandoned by her family, and left in the hands of the caring shelter employees.
Day after day she was left to face her loneliness, and wonder what she could have ever done to deserve her current reality. She spent her days confined in the walls of a kennel, as she watched her other kennel mates leave with their new families. While we may never know exactly how a shelter dog feels, the image that the shelter staff took of her helps to give us a little peek into their hearts.
In this photo we see a beautiful dog, gripping onto the bars with what appears to be tears in her eyes. This image was seared into the minds of animal lovers when this photo went viral, and for good reason. You can almost feel her pain.
While we know that animals do not produce tears when they experience sadness like we do, this photo is still a glimpse into the harsh reality of a shelter dog.
This pup most likely had some sort of illness that was producing the secretions from the eyes. Like so many shelter dogs, she was exposed to the germs that are often present in a kennel environment. Though staff tries their best to limit the presence of these germs, the coming and going of so many homeless animals makes it impossible.
This beautiful girl may not have actually been crying, but there is no doubt that her eyes speak the words of a lonely dog who so desperately craves love. It’s no wonder that when the shelter shared her photo, the interested adopters came flooding in.
After going through the many applications for this sweet pup, she finally found her forever home. When she left the shelter with her new mom by her side, you could see the joy radiating from her big, beautiful eyes!
This was a happy ending for this lucky doggo, but there are so many shelter dogs who will never meet this fate. This story is an important reminder to treat our pets like family, and make sure they never have to experience the loneliness of a shelter. Dogs are a part of our family, and deserve our forever love!
H/T: http://ilovemydogsomuch.tv
Photo Credit: Facebook.com/HighPlainsPAW
Toledo, United States.
