When a shelter dog at the Delaware Humane Association went out for a walk one day, she stopped suddenly and started barking frantically. She was barking at something on the other side of the fence. It was another dog and it was tied to the fence. When a worker went to see what all the commotion was about, he came upon a very thin terrier mix, with a note attached to its collar.
The note read: “Please take care of Sky. 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.”
Kerry Bruni, who serves as the director of animal care for the shelter, did an evaluation of Sky and found that she was about 20 pounds underweight, and she had fleas, but, otherwise, she was in pretty good shape. Sky seemed really friendly and actually enjoyed being around other dogs.
Workers at the shelter took in Sky and fed her. And then they posted about her on Facebook. Says the post they put on Facebook: “We can’t imagine this was easy for her former owner, so please refrain from expressing any negative thoughts you may have.”
And judging from the letter left with Sky, it was not an easy decision at all. But the right one. Since posting about Sky, the shelter, which sees about 20 abandoned dogs a year, has received many applications to adopt her, and workers believe she will soon find a loving forever home. Sky’s former owner may still return to claim her.
In that case, Bruni said: “We would be willing to work with them to reunite them, but it would really depend on the situation and the owner’s circumstances. Sometimes, the best option is to surrender a pet if you are unable to care for them, which includes shelter.”
