It’s always heartbreaking when dogs are surrendered to shelters by their owners, even if the owner has a good reason for doing so. It can be a sad, scary experience for the dog suddenly being left in new surroundings.
That was the case for one dog, who cried as he was left at the shelter — but now he’s in good hands and receiving plenty of love.
Blue Bear, an 11-year-old mastiff, was surrendered last month to Trenton Animals Rock by his owner. The shelter said the owner’s situation was “complicated” and not something they could fix with money. They didn’t disclose the man’s personal situation, other than that he could no longer care for his pet and wanted to surrender Blue Bear to their care.
There are many legitimate reasons a person might have for giving up their pet, like financial or health reasons. But that doesn’t make it any easier for the pet: Blue Bear was left heartbroken, suddenly separated from the only home and family he’s ever known.
“It was just heartbreaking,” Danielle Gletow, director of Trenton Animals Rock, told The Dodo.
“Every chance he got, he’d go over to the door and sit in front of it crying,” she said. “He turned around, and he had literal tears coming down his face. I’m not exaggerating — literal tears.”
Seeing how sad Blue Bear was, they realized he couldn’t spend the night in the shelter, so they put out an emergency appeal to find him a foster home. They shared a Facebook photo of him sitting sadly by the door, writing that he was in “desperate need of a loving home tonight.”
In addition to being so heartbroken, Blue Bear was also old and arthritic: “The shelter is a rough place for any dog, but for a 130 lb dog who just lost their only owner, it is devastating,” they wrote.
Luckily, Blue Bear didn’t have to spend a night in the shelter: a local foster volunteer named Madison opened her home to the heartbroken dog.
Now that he’s settled in to his cozy new foster home, things are starting to look up for Blue Bear. According to the shelter, he was given a clean bill of health by vets.
He’s also housebroken, knows commands and “loves everyone.”
While going to a loving foster home certainly took the sting out of being surrendered, Blue Bear is now looking for his forever home.
“Blue Bear is perfect,” Trenton Animals Rock wrote. “We’ve all voted and decided. He’s 100+ lbs of love, loyalty and joy. He’s 11 but the docs say this boy has got a few good years left in him. He’s dog friendly, housebroken and walks amazing on a leash. We’d love to find him his forever.”
What a beautiful dog. It’s heartbreaking to think of everything he’s gone through, but we’re glad Blue Bear has a wonderful foster home and hope he gets adopted soon!
If you are interested in adopting Blue Bear you can apply on Trenton Animal Rock’s adoption site!
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