It’s a heartbreaking reality that senior dogs are at the highest risk for abandonment by their owners. People lose the ability to care for the medical bills or needs of an older dog and decide to simply get rid of it. The “puppy” stage is over and they have gotten all they needed out of the dog they are now going to abandon.
One heartwrenching story shows how often this happens.
One surprise visit at the Wanderer’s Rest Humane Association in New York turned into something amazing. There was a sled sitting in the yard near the front door. Inside was a dog tied down by ropes.
A dog had been tied into the sled and dropped off at the front with a note and a small bowl of water.
The dog had been dropped off in Canastota, New York, and was completely alone. It had been sitting there for the entire night and the only information the shelter had was a small note. The note is enough to make you cry.
“Over 10 years old. Can no longer walk.”
With a short two sentences, someone had abandoned their dog of over a decade. Their dog who had been with them for years and relied on them for medical needs. All of that was down the drain when they dropped off the dog at the shelter. The dog had no idea where it was and just wanted to be home with his family. Unfortunately, the dog had no idea how alone he was.
If it weren’t for places like Wanderer’s Humane Association, dogs like this one would never make it.
Right after taking the dog in, they named him Perry. Getting him inside for some tests and work, they did a full checkup. While his tests were coming in, they posted a photo to him on Facebook asking if anyone recognized him:
“If anyone recognizes this dog please get in touch with us ASAP. He was left outside of our shelter at some point throughout the night tied down to the sled. The note left with him states: “Over 10 yrs old. Can no longer walk.” This is abandonment. If you can no longer care for your pet for any reason, give us a call and we can either directly help you or give you resources. Abandoning them is not the answer and will never be acceptable, especially one that can no longer walk.”
The shelter is completely funded by donations and this expense wasn’t something they were expecting.
People who saw the post decided to help and wanted to ensure Perry got the right treatment. He had two tick-borne illnesses and a severe skin infection that needed to be taken care of. After some pain relievers and treatment, he started acting like a different dog! Incredibly, he was even able to walk a tiny bit with some help.
Perry is in good hands and is getting the help he needs.
When he first arrived, Perry wasn’t up for adoption while he was getting treatment. They are posting his story on Facebook for anyone who wants to follow along with his recovery! Their original post describing the story shows just how terrible of a thing it is that was done to Perry.
Check out the Facebook post and encouraging comments below!
“We do not know the situation of the individual that left this dog. If you need help with your pet we are always here to help in one way or another… even if we can’t take it directly from you we can help provide other options. Leaving a pet tied up outside leaves them susceptible to being injured by a multitude of things. We are a shelter, and while we will do everything in our power to help every animal that walks through our doors, we do not have unlimited resources. We do not have a vet on staff. We rely on donations. We can only hope that everyone who is in a situation where they feel they need to drop their pet off somewhere will call all of their local shelters/rescues and veterinary hospitals to look for other safer options first. We are blessed by the amount of support we are receiving from our community and together we will help this dog.”
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