Not everything in this world is rainbows and butterflies. As warm and sweet as the story is, it’s still only a minority. Unfortunately, stories about our canine friends are full of heartbreaking, heartbreaking, heartbreaking stories.
The number of abandoned dogs in the United States is enormous. Millions of dogs are abandoned by their owners every year, and that number shows no signs of slowing down.
It was common to see abandoned dogs on the streets. I don’t know about you, but I will never get used to stories of abandoned puppies left in garbage bags or dogs tied to trees without food, water or shelter.
Another heartbreaking story comes from Tampa Bay. It broke my heart. Although the story has a happy ending, I can’t stop thinking about the times when an abandoned girl named Natalie was locked in a small cage right next to a busy road. Grab a box of tissues and lean on my shoulder while we listen to Natalie’s story and cry.
Tampa Bay Humane Society found a caged dog
dog in a cage on the side of the road
Someone once said that bad people are like weeds, they pop up wherever you tell them to. I completely agree with this statement because I have seen too many examples of bad, just plain bad people in the workplace. I don’t want to bore you with some of the dog neglect cases I’ve seen. Let’s just say keeping a desperate dog in a cage isn’t as difficult as other situations we’ve seen.
But that is the importance of Natalia’s story and God knows how long she spent in that cage!
It was hot outside. Natalie had nowhere to escape the heat. He had not a drop of water or an ounce of acid to sustain his life. His moments were few and far between. Without her kind passengers, Natalie would not have arrived until tomorrow. Fortunately, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay stepped in as soon as the call came in. They rushed to save the poor puppy. When they arrived, Natalie was not feeling well. He was too hungry, too thirsty and too tired to react. dog in cage on roadside lawn
Natalie didn’t seem to believe that she would actually be saved. His hope for humanity was lost the moment his former master left him for dead. When we opened our kennel at the HSTB hospital for Natalie to come out, she was a completely different dog!
“Her tail wagged when she was out of the crate,” Regan Blessinger, the hospital’s marketing and content manager, said.
Besides the obvious dehydration and starvation, Natalie turned out to be fine and overall healthy. A fast rehabilitation at the shelter was all she needed.
“Natalie was timid at first, but warmed up to people and dogs quickly!” Regan shared. “She was loved by staff and volunteers because [of] how she would lay in the sun and look at you, waiting for some butt scratches.”
A month later, Natalie’s new furever family came to pick her up. The once abandoned girl couldn’t believe her luck: she got brand new owners, and a new sister, Zoey, all in just one month!
As the Tampa Bay Humane Society said on their Facebook, during the adoption, Natalie was leaning into her adopter’s legs, and you could tell she was happy and excited to be joining her new family!
At the end, I have to add that I’m pretty excited for Natalie, too, but I’ll never forget the image of her sitting hopelessly in that forsaken cage.
Let’s just hope that Natalie’s new family will erase those moments from her life and replace them with happy memories only.
