As a result, Ghost was left to fend for himself on the streets.
He was found wandering through yards in western Michigan.
A Good Samaritan stopped to check on Ghost and found that he had a note attached to his collar. The heartbreaking note made just one request: “Please don’t take me to a shelter.”
“I am lost and looking for a home. My owner had a stroke and can not care for me. Please don’t take me to a shelter. I am a purebred coonhound 6 months old. Please find home,” the note read.
The Good Samaritan decided that they would try to fulfill the note’s request.
They reached out to LuvnPupz, a group that rescues and finds homes for animals.
“At first, when I saw her with the note, I was taken aback,” Luvnupz President and Founder Carri Shipaila told The Dodo. “But once I read it and saw how lovingly it was sealed to avoid moisture, I knew there has to be more to this.”
Shipaila and her staff tried to track down her owner so that they could offer to help out with keeping Ghost in his original home.
“If the owner felt they couldn’t provide for the dog financially due to circumstances, then I believe we can help to keep the dog in the home,” Shipaila said. “I also want to make sure that this owner knows what happened, and if the owner personally needs help after the stroke, I would like to invite the community to come together to help.”
Shipaila hopes that Ghost’s story will inspire people to reach out for help before abandoning their pets.
“We need to begin creating new ways to help people retain their pets and sometimes that means looking outside the box,” Shipaila said. “People say they don’t want to intrude or offend someone by offering help to someone who didn’t ask. It’s time to change that. It’s time we all communicate and reach out positively.”
