“He didn’t want to get up, he just started looking around frantically for his people.”
To their surprise, a 1-year-old, 73-pound dog was left tethered to a tree behind the shelter, and his sorrow-filled eyes were begging them for help. With their kennels already filled and not enough adoption applications to alleviate the space, the staff worried about taking in the dog. But they couldn’t just leave him out there on his own.
“Even when we cease all rescue efforts, they are still coming in faster than we can get them out,” SRSL wrote.
While staff members scrambled to set up a temporary safe space for the dog, later named Oak, at the shelter, the volunteer who discovered him worked on gaining his trust.
“He didn’t want to get up, he just started looking around frantically for his people,” SRSL wrote. “But they’re not coming back …”
“This guy is safe, we are taking him in, but we are setting up ANOTHER crate in a very loud and chaotic room,” SRSL wrote. “This is breaking our hearts.”
Oak settled into his crate after a while, where he’s been staying ever since. Apart from routine walks and daily playtime with his friends, Oak spends most of his time in his crate, trying to remain calm inside the busy shelter.
As much as the folks at SRSL love having him around, they are desperate to find him the perfect home to decompress in. Or, at the very least, they hope to send other residents off to forever homes, which would give Oak a little more space while he waits.