Every dog’s greatest wish is a loving home and people who will love and care for him. Unfortunately, many dogs do not have this privilege and are forced to fend for themselves or, at best, settle in shelters.

Chico, a 10-year-old Chihuahua, has a somewhat different situation, but her fate is equally heartbreaking. This dog had a loving family and a warm home from birth, but when he needed his loved ones the most, they left him behind.

He was very confused and could not accept the fact that the people he loved the most were no longer there.

The hope that kept him alive

For 10 long years, Chico enjoyed every moment with his family in a loving home. He couldn’t imagine life without them but, unfortunately, they didn’t think like that. They left him in a facility in North Carolina, and the reason was heartbreaking. 

According to McClatchy News, the family surrendered him because “they still had trouble potty-training him after 10 years.” However, the North Carolina shelter to which he was transferred confirmed that “Chico’s kennel has been clean since he arrived at the shelter.”

When he came to the shelter within the Humane Society of Concord & Greater Cabarrus County, located in Concord, North Carolina, he was still baffled and didn’t want to eat. 

But, what caught the shelter employees’ eyes the most was his reaction whenever he saw a car pull up.

“Every time a car would pull up in our driveway, he would be looking aggressively to try to get to that vehicle thinking it was his people coming back,” Judy Sims, executive director of the Humane Society of Concord & Greater Cabarrus County in Concord, North Carolina, told McClatchy News. “We see this so often when people surrender their animals.”

These people knew that it was the hope that kept him alive, and they were all very touched by it. Fortunately, this only motivated them to help Chico meet his happy ending as soon as possible. 

Finally, The Car With The Right People

The shelter soon wrote a Facebook post about Chico and presented him to their followers and the general public. 

“Chico is an older gentleman that recently came to us after losing his home of ten years. He quickly attaches to certain people and can often have choice words for others he doesn’t know. Chico is a guy that needs to build trust to feel safe, and we don’t blame him due to what he’s been through,” they wrote. 

They added that he would prefer “a low traffic home that has plenty of free time and love to give him.” It was also emphasized that he must be the only dog ​​and that it would be ideal if the family did not have any other pets. 

This post quickly attracted a lot of attention and Chico’s life story was shared by many. Numerous offers for adoption started arriving at the shelter address, but not one of them met the specific requirements for this dog.

Just when Chico began to lose hope that he would ever again experience the happy moments of a loving home, a miracle happened. A car with the right people pulled up in front of the shelter and picked him up. He was finally on his way to the place where he belonged.