Dogs are great pets, but we all know they can make a real mess sometimes.
One thing many dog owners have to deal with is their pets digging through trash. Dogs don’t share our reservations about garbage, and will happily go hunting for scraps of food in the bin… not realizing the mess they’re leaving us with.
Sure, the cleanup is a bit of a headache, but it’s just a common thing dogs do, and it’s just part of having one.
But one family apparently didn’t see it that way, and heartlessly abandoned their dog to a shelter, reportedly just for eating out of the garbage can.
In 2018, a 2-year-old dog named Coby was surrendered to Fairfield County Shelter in South Carolina. A woman named Samira Yaghi was shocked when she heard about the dog’s backstory.
“Surrendered because he kept getting into the trash??” she wrote on Facebook. “I thought he was picked up as a stray.”
“That explains why he is scared out of his mind.”
Coby was frightened and alone at the shelter. He would sit in the corner of the room staring at the wall, and had to be carried outside.
“He wanted to hide under the raised bed or run away when we got outside,” Samira wrote. “He kept trying to chew the leash and would not look at us.”
It was a heartbreaking sight. Being abandoned clearly left a devastating impression on the poor dog.
Luckily, help was on the way.
A group called Compassion For Cats of Delaware got hold of the story, and was shocked that Coby was given away for such a trivial reason. They stepped in to take the dog in and give him the love he needed.
“He tugged at my heartstrings and I instantly knew we had to pull him [from the shelter],” rescue founder Leigh Maddox told The Dodo.
An group named Pilots N Paws stepped in to fly Coby across the country to Delaware to be taken in by his new foster mother, Olivia Fritz.
But it was clear that gaining Coby’s trust would be no easy task. “Once he was out of the plane he went limp from fear,” Olivia told The Dodo. “He was so shut down that really he did not respond to anything or anyone.”
But she was prepared to deal with the challenges ahead, unlike Coby’s previous family.
“My personal dogs have ALWAYS been trash diggers and we as a family have come up with creative ways to help with that behavior,” Oliva said.
“This is what a family should do when they own dogs — not dump them in a shelter. The entire story just broke my heart.”
Coby slowly adjusted to the new foster home. Olivia was determined to get the dog readjusted to people before finding him a forever home, even if it takes a long time.
“I thought if I just held him and kissed him that he would know he was loved … but it is far more than that,” Olivia said. “I hope the damage he suffered can be overcome but it won’t be overnight.”
Owning a dog is a big responsibility. You need to be ready for the challenges involved, because sending your dog to a shelter over some little thing can take a serious toll.
Luckily, Coby has been given a second chance and is on the path to recovery. Remember to adopt from shelters! Share this story!
