Staff at a California animal rescue were left heartbroken after reading the note handed in by someone surrendering their dog to the shelter.
Almost every pet owner who makes the difficult decision to surrender a four-legged friend to the shelter does so with a heavy heart and due to a very specific set of personal circumstances.
Yet certain issues are more frequently cited than others by those who choose to surrender a pet.
An analysis by Best Friends Animal Society, which operates America’s largest network of no-kill shelters, looked at the reasons given by those surrendering animals to their facilities. Issues with “housing” was among the most frequently cited alongside things like overcrowding and behavior problems.
Housing issues appear to have been at the heart of why Doyle the four-year-old dog was surrendered to a Los Angeles shelter. That was where Hillary Rosen, the founder of A Purposeful Rescue, first met him.
“Shelter volunteers and staff called us after his previous owner left him with a sweet note,” Rosen told Newsweek. “They were moving and could not keep him.”
Rosen created the non-profit A Purposeful Rescue in an effort to help dogs from high-kill shelters in the Los Angeles area.
From the moment she saw Doyle and read the note he was left with, she knew she had to help. It’s a note Rosen had since shared on the A Purposeful Rescue Instagram, admitting that the contents left her and others helping Doyle “devastated.”
The note explained that Doyle “doesn’t like yelling” and is “a really great dog” who has “never been around other dogs and never been outside.”
They added that his family was “sad to see him go” but wanted him to get a “second chance at life.” The note ends: “Please find him a good home. Please don’t put him down.”
Reading the note, Rosen could not help but feel for Doyle’s former family at that moment. “The note from the owners really drove it home,” she said. “It’s hard watching a dog get dropped off you have known and loved for his entire four years of life.”
Though his family were concerned, Rosen has been keen to stress that, had A Purposeful Rescue not intervened, Doyle would have been okay. “Another rescue would have likely come for him. He was not at risk of euthanasia,” she said.
That heartfelt letter did play a role in getting Doyle the help he needed. Help that A Purposeful Rescue has provided in abundance. Rosen is happy to report that Doyle is doing “great” since coming into their care. “We got him neutered and he got a much needed grooming and he’s in a foster home now,” she said.
The next step is to give Doyle that “second chance at life” that his previous family wished for him. Rosen appears confident it will happen.
“Doyle is great with just about everyone,” she said. “He could live in a home with kids and dogs.” Anyone who thinks they have room for a dog like Doyle is urged to get in touch.
