When someone gives up their pet, it always breaks my heart. Even if you can’t take care of your pet anymore, it’s your job to give it to a shelter or find a new home for it. But a heartbreaking photo that has gone viral shows a small dog whose owner left her tied to a fire hydrant after giving up on her.
The dog is now safe, thank goodness. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Baby Girl, a tan mixed-breed dog, was left tied to a yellow fire hydrant. The dog’s owners left a note with the dog explaining that they could no longer care for the dog. The note was in a backpack with the dog’s treats, toys, and food.
Even though it’s clear the owners had their reasons and thought they were being responsible, Kyle Rose Engelhardt, a local woman who found the dog and posted about it on Facebook, was still shocked. She said it broke her heart to see Baby Girl like this. “I can’t believe someone would do this,” she wrote, asking if anyone knew the dog.
Kylie called the police and took Baby Girl to the Wisconsin Humane Society. The Wisconsin Humane Society took care of the poor dog and says she is “doing great” now that she is in their care. Even though this wasn’t the best way to get rid of a dog and many people were outraged by the story, the Humane Society was more sympathetic to the owners. In a Facebook post, they said:
First of all, we’re really sorry that you had to leave your best friend. It’s clear how much you loved her, and we can see that you did your best even though you had your own health problems and other problems in life. We can tell how much you care about her by how carefully you packed her favorite things into the bag. We can tell how much you care about her by how you tied her leash so she wouldn’t get hit by a car.
We can tell how much you care about her because you put her in the middle of a neighborhood where she would be easy to find. We can tell how much you love Baby Girl by how happy and healthy she looks. And the note you left, begging someone to help her when you couldn’t, shows how much you cared. Even though the Humane Society says they allow anonymous surrenders and won’t let surrender fees “get in the way,” they told the owners they were “grateful for your kindness.”
They wrote that the staff are now paying Baby Girl a lot of attention and that she has a “bright future ahead of her.” Poor Baby Girl! We’re sure that when she was left alone like that, she was sad and confused. But even so, it’s clear that her owners could no longer take care of her, and in the end, everything turned out fine.
