We’ve all seen quite a few cases where a dog was abandoned and left on his own without the owners, and it makes us extremely sad to see a dog suffer through such a thing.
The situation for the dog in this story is not much different. However, the way that he deals with this realization is just absolutely heartbreaking.
A Sad Dog With No Hope Left
When he was abandoned by his old family in a shelter, Barkley quickly realized what happened to him. He was very distressed and it also seemed like he was severely depressed.
He was also an elderly dog who had a lot of health problems that needed addressing.
The animal shelter organization, called Secondhand Hounds, took him in and decided to help him.
When he was put in his kennel, he rolled up in one of the corners and just stared at the wall for weeks.
When any one of the staff members tried to interact with him, he would show no interest and would just continue staring.
Not only that, he also ignored all the food the people brought him and would starve himself.
During his examination by the vet, Barkley was sedated, and while they examined him, they were shocked by what they saw.
His teeth were in a horrible state, and his paws had raw and infected urine burns.
He was already neutered by his previous owners, which led the staff to believe that he may have been abandoned simply due to the financial problems caused by his deteriorating health as an elderly dog.
No One’s Giving Up Yet
However, the shelter staff refused to give up on him, and were determined to help him be his old self again.
They continued to show him love and care every day, and soon enough, Barkley realized that the people cared about him and wanted to help him.
Slowly, but surely, he showed signs of recovering from his depression, and he is now much happier.
Not too long after he recovered, the Secondhand Hounds organization found a new family for Barkley, and they were overjoyed that he could finally get his forever home.
He spent two very happy years with his new family, but he soon passed due to an untreatable cancer mass on his back and his spine.
It was incredibly sad news for everyone, but the family and the shelter staff were thankful that his last years were spent in joy and in a loving home.
Despite how rough his life had been up to that point, I am glad to see that there are people who would help an elderly dog feel love and comfort at least one more time before they cross the rainbow bridge.
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