It’s always heartbreaking when people surrender their pets to shelters, but it’s especially sad when it’s a senior dog. These animals are suddenly upended from their familiar homes and often left to spend the rest of their lives in kennels.
That was the case for one 20-year-old dog surrendered by his owner — but his heartbreaking story has a happy ending.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue, a no-kill shelter in Florida, recently took in a senior Weimaraner named Dax who had been surrendered by his owner. A video shared by the shelter on TikTok shows how confused and heartbroken Dax was.
“It is unfathomable to think about a loving loyal 20 year old senior dog, at the end of his life span, given up and left confused and heartbroken,” the rescue wrote.
“These are not just dogs, these are our children,” they said. “Please be responsible. A home should be forever.”
But Dax was now in good hands, and his new friends committed to giving this poor old dog the best care possible.
Love4Paws, another Florida nonprofit, stepped in to help Dax in a major way: because of his age, Dax could no longer get around like he used to, so they raised money to get him fitted for his own wheelchair.
“As soon as he was secured into his wheelchair he was ready to rock and roll!” Love4Paws wrote on Facebook. “We can’t even begin to explain how happy it made us to see him on the move… We love to see him happy and comfortable, he deserves it more than we could ever explain!”
One of their board members also agreed to take in Dax as a foster. “Dax just wants love, he cries if he can’t see his foster mom even for a few seconds,” Love4Paws added.
Dax was put up for adoption. Despite his advanced age, he still had plenty of life in him and just wanted a new family to love him. It can often be difficult to find a home for a senior dog, but Big Dog Ranch Rescue hoped there was someone out there for poor Dax.
“Dax still has a lot of life and love in him,” the spokesperson for the shelter told Newsweek. “He can get himself up onto a sofa and off again and is steady on his feet with a little assistance at first. He loves his toys and treats and is great with other dogs.”
Thankfully, Dax’s story now has a happy ending: according to a post from Big Dog Rescue, Dax has been adopted into a new forever home!
“Dax was welcomed by his forever mother and his new siblings with loving open arms,” they wrote. “We are so very grateful for this wonderful miracle!”
It’s heartbreaking that Dax was surrendered at such an old age, but we’re glad everything worked out in the end and he has a great new home ❤️❤️❤️
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