It’s not unusual for dogs to be homed in shelters but this is upsetting for many animal-lovers and several have been left ‘heartbroken’ after learning why one pup was returned to a shelter in the US
Seeing so many dogs in shelters tugs on the heartstrings of many animal-lovers. These pooches are often taken to shelters after their owners become unable to care for them for a variety of reasons, such as major life changes or financial difficulties.
Stray dogs and those rescued from neglect or abuse are also found in animal centres. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), it is estimated that around 100,000 dogs are in shelters and rescue centres at any time in the UK. These pups patiently wait to be adopted and find their forever homes but in some unfortunate cases, they are taken in by owners who then bring them back to the shelter.
This is what happened to Lucy, a six-year-old labrador retriever, who is being housed at Valley Animal Centre in Fresno, California.
A TikTok video by Jackie, who likely works at the centre, shows the poor dog sitting on the floor shaking and with a sad facial expression.
Jackie explained that Lucy had been returned to the shelter after she was found to be “too boring and nervous.”
The TikTok user gave more information about the pup in the caption of the post: “Lucy is a dog that needs to learn to be confident and will need lots of patience in order for her to feel comfortable in the environment that she is in. She does do well with dogs/cats.”
Jackie added that Lucy is not the kind of dog that would suit being exposed to new environments straight away.
The short clip has garnered 378,400 views, 82,300 likes and more than 2,000 comments, at the time of writing.
One user said: “Forever confused why people like this adopt animals in the first place. Boring and nervous?? Boring??
“I hate when people treat animals as if they’re nothing more than an entertainment source. She’s a whole soul. She deserves love.
“She deserves to be at peace and to be loved just for being herself.” Another added: “Sweet baby. This breaks my heart more than I can say.”
A third chimed in: “This is so heartbreaking. Sweet Lucy girl, you deserve so much better. Praying you find the most perfect forever home beautiful girl.”
A different user, who was very emotional after learning about Lucy’s situation, remarked: “I’m sobbing so hard this was so uncalled for.”
Someone else commented: “People don’t understand that a dog needs time to adjust to their life outside of shelters.
“She wasn’t ‘too boring and nervous’, the owners were just too ignorant and impatient.”
Valley Animal Centre has given more details about Lucy on its website where it describes the canine as a “very sweet nervous girl.”
The organisation adds: “Lucy at the moment is going to have to be a Foster to Adopt. Before she is able to get spayed and be available for adoption, we would want her to just lose a little bit of weight.”
It further shares that Lucy “loves to go for walks”, is treat motivated and would “love to be a couch dog and be able to watch movies and series with someone.”