Shelter Shares Furious Post As Dog Given Up After 7 Years—’Sick and Tired’

A Dallas shelter has shared their fury after a dog was given up by his family after seven years through no fault of his own.

Rooney, a 7-year-old dogue de Bordeaux, was abandoned by his owners at a shelter after the arrival of their new baby.

The family had dropped him at a local animal control shelter that was overcrowded and struggling.

The once-loved pet found himself in an atmosphere heavy with the scent of fear, while the stark reality of space shortages meant that many dogs there were facing being euthanized.

The animal control shelter shared that despite being neutered, house trained and good with other dogs, Rooney was “surrendered due to having a baby and not being able to give him enough attention.”

Rooney’s fate was uncertain when transporter Ricky who works with Dallas shelter Lone Star Dog Ranch & Dog Ranch Rescue intervened, driving out to the shelter and paying the small $17 fee to take him away. When he arrived at the center, staff were in equal measures heartbroken and furious.

“I am so sick and tired of people ‘getting rid of their dogs’ because you had a baby, a change in your life, blah blah blah blah blah,” read a furious post on Lone Star Dog Ranch & Dog Ranch Rescue’s Facebook page. “Welcome to Dog Ranch Rescue Rooney, you are a senior now, but we will find you a home that won’t throw you away again because they had a blip in their life.”

Each year, 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet “Shelter Watch Report” found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

Upon his arrival at Dog Ranch Rescue on April 11, Rooney was suffering from diarrhea and stress.

Now he is in isolation because of fears he may have picked up an illness at the previous shelter, but is in a quiet and comfortable environment where he can start to feel safe again.

In the post on their Facebook page, the rescue staff didn’t hold back: “I always wonder did it make you feel bad while you stood in line? Did you look back at him when you walked away, did you see his face asking you ‘what the hell?’ Did you forget about him 5 minutes later? 10 minutes maybe?”

Despite the heartbreaking circumstances that Rooney has found himself in, the shelter is now determined to help him find a new home where he can live his best life.

Laura Galloway from Dog Ranch Rescue told Newsweek: “We will see what he needs medically and begin to evaluate him with other dogs to determine what kind of home will be best for a giant breed senior dog.”