Dachshund left at shelter with heartbreaking note

[Hum]

An elderly couple who left their 13 ? year old Dachshund tied outside of the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter near Los Angeles with a note asking for him to put to sleep because they could not afford to care for him will be reunited with the dog.

The heartbreaking note reads, "Our dog is 13 1/2 years old he is sick starting yesterday with bloody stools, vomiting. Had a skin disease for a few years. We are both seniors, sick with no money. We cannot pay for vet bills, or to put him to sleep. He has never been away from us in all those years, he cannot function without us, please put him to sleep."

Instead, shelter workers called Leave No Paws Behind, Inc., an all breed, all foster based rescue that specializes in seniors, who picked up the dog and initially named him Harley. When the dog was taken to a veterinarian, it was determined he could not only be treated, but most likely had a "couple of more years" left in him, according to an update on the organization's Facebook page.

The rescue realized the little dog had been well-cared for and according to the note, very much loved, so they decided to try to reach out to the dog's owners.

When the dog owners came forward, they explained they are indeed both sick and cannot even afford their medical treatments or tires for their vehicle. They had taken their dog, who is actually named Otto Wolfgang Maximus, to a veterinarian and were told that they would need to run costly tests. When they realized they couldn't even afford to have their dog euthanized by the vet, they were "hysterical" and didn't know what else to do aside from leaving him at the shelter.

"We just are living week to week," one of the pet parents, who wished to remain anonymous, told KTLA in an interview. "We can't even go to the hospital to get our treatment."

Although they had read the judgments people were making about their decision after the story was made public, they reached out to the rescue anyway. "I was in tears when I realized that their love for this darling little man outweighed their fear of what people may say about them and I knew instantly, our decision to try to reunite Otto with his humans was the right decision!" reads the post on Leave No Paws Behind.

The organization believes the Otto's owners loves him very much and just felt they had no other choice. "Ninety eight percent of the rescues we take in belong with us," said Toby Wisneski, founder of Leave No Paws Behind. "There are 1-2 percent of owners who love their animals very much and just believe they have no other option but to surrender them."

Wisneski has decided to make the couple a permanent foster for Otto and return the dog to them with the provision they can make regular, weekly visits to the home. The organization will maintain the cost of Otto's food and veterinary care for the rest of his life.

 

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[illage3]

Awwww :)

[firey]

That's awesome! 

[TheLaughingMan]

Im happy he can spend the rest of his time with his family instead of being put to sleep. and yay for free treatment for the dog