Bringing a pet into your life is a lifelong commitment – but if you truly must give them up, it’s best to take them to a rescue center where they can be safe until they are rehomed.
Simply abandoning your pet is one of the cruelest things you can do. Living out in the wild is incredibly unsafe for a domesticated pet- but aside from that, they’re also likely to be incredibly confused about what’s happening, and might end up refusing help.
Such was the case with this next story, when a collie left alone in the park wouldn’t let anyone come near her for days.
It was January in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and a skittish-looking collie had been spotted hanging around a local park all by herself.
The poor thing must have been freezing cold, but she seemed to be under the impression that her family were going to return to pick her up again, and wouldn’t accept help from anyone.
Concerned locals contacted Janine Guido, founder of rescue organization Speranza Animal Rescue, who immediately drove out to try and find the abandoned dog.
“She was staying in the same spot — as if waiting for her family to return. But they never did,” Guido told The Dodo.
Guido knew that time was the essence, and in the freezing temperatures, it was important to bring the dog into safety as soon as possible.
But it wasn’t going to be easy.
“On the first and second day I went out I was able to hand-feed her,” Guido said. “However, if I went to loop her with the leash she would back up.”
Every time Guido got close, the dog, who she named Clara, would back away before running into the woods. Guido became increasingly more worried about the dog, and she took to Facebook to alert others about the situation.
“Ever wonder what a dog dumped by her owners does?” Speranza Animal Rescue wrote on Facebook alongside some heartbreaking photos of Clara. “Sits and watches. Waiting for her family to come back.”
As more locals found out about Clara, many of them wanted to help. But even with the extra help, it still wasn’t an easy feat.
“The park was a highly populated area,” Guido explained. “And she kept getting spooked with all the people around. Eventually, after others had tracked her through the woods she relocated.”
>
Two nerve-wracking days passed where no one had sighted Clara. Guido began to fear the worst – until she was alerted to a new sighting.
Carla had been sleeping under someone’s back porch, trying to keep sheltered from the cold.
Guido headed straight back out, and this time, she almost managed to rescue Clara. Only at the last minute, the timid dog got spooked once more. A few hours later, there was yet another update. This one was in the form of a live video, shared from the Speranza Animal Rescue Facebook page.
“We got her! I’m so excited,” Guido told her delighted followers. “Your new life has begun. You’re safe now and we love you.”
The video then pointed towards the passenger seat, where Clara was sitting, safe and sound.
So how had Guido managed to catch Clara in the end? Apparently, she’d received a call of another sighting a few hours later in another residential area.
“I was able to have her follow me on to a porch,” she said. “And the two other women blocked both entrances, so she could not escape. I leashed her and the rest is history.”
A trip to the vets found that Clara was around 10 years old and was about 15 to 20 pounds underweight. Since she also had no microchip, there was no knowing where she had come from or who had dumped her.
“No neighbors recognize her. No lost reports with police,” Guido said. “Sadly, we believe she was dumped and that’s why she was staying in that same spot.”
Clara was so exhausted when she was eventually found that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Guido arranged for her to be taken to a safe and loving foster home where she could recover before being put up for adoption. Just look at that smile!
We hope this story is a lesson to anyone considering giving up their dog. There’s always a better way to do it than leaving them out on the streets.
Watch the live video of Clara’s rescue below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
