A young puppy was recently abandoned outside the Atlanta Humane Society, with a heartbreaking note from her owners explaining why they could no longer take care of her.
The society's Christina Hill told Newsweek that the puppy was dropped off after her family hit hard times.
"She was scared, and we named her Khloe, but our team put her into a foster home quickly. It's heartbreaking that our community is having to make these decisions because they can't afford to care for their beloved pets," Hill said.
In a post shared on Facebook earlier in July, the Atlanta Humane Society appealed to the family of the puppy: "To the owner who felt they had nowhere to turn and left this sweet puppy at our shelter, we want you to know that our hearts go out to you.
"We can see how much you care about her and understand how painful this decision must have been. If this is your beloved pet, please reach out to us. We can talk about ways we can support you during these challenging times and explore how we might reunite you with your sweet dog," the post said.
Hill said the society has many safety net programs to keep beloved pets out of the shelter, including a pet food and supply bank and an affordable veterinary clinic called Remedy: Your Community Vet.
"Our bilingual Resource Center is also available seven days a week to connect pet parents throughout Georgia with free or affordable resources in their community," she said. "The human/animal bond is so critical, especially during difficult times, and we're doing everything we can to keep pets with their people."
Khloe is now in foster care and receiving lots of love. The shelter still hopes to reunite her with her original family and provide them with pet supplies or support so they can all stay together.
"We're seeing more and more families struggling to keep their beloved pets...having to make the heartbreaking decision between feeding them or their children. So much so that we're shifting our resources significantly to keep pets in home and out of overcrowded shelters," Hill said.
To the owner who felt they had no where to turn and left this sweet puppy at our shelter, we want you to know that our hearts go out to you. 💔 We can see how much you care about her and understand...
Each year 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744, compared with January 2022, 24Petwatch's Shelter Watch Report found.
According to Michigan's Humane Society of Macomb, the most common reasons for dog surrenders include age, allergies, behavioral issues, cleanup, cost, moving, new pets and shedding.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs and behavior rehabilitation.
According to Hill, Khloe's foster carer says that she's "super cute and incredibly affectionate and that she loves to be pet and cuddled."
Moreover, the pup does well on a leash, she is happily crated overnight, and she's very smart and eager to please. Even though they haven't tried to teach her any training things, she's already sitting to say please and understands "no."
The video quickly went viral and has so far received over 1,600 likes and 180 comments.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
About the writer
Maria Azzurra Volpe is a Newsweek Life & Trends reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is reporting on everyday ... Read more
