Millions of dogs are turned into shelters every year, either they are surrendered by their owners or they’re found on the streets.
Sometimes, dogs are left in public locations, with the hopes that they will be found be a Good Samaritan.
One dog wasn’t left in a very public spot. Instead, his owner tied him to a tree in the woods, with a heartbreaking note attached.
Meet Zeus.
This poor dog was left out in the cold, all alone. He might not have been found for a while if officers hadn’t gotten a complaint about a mattress.
“Someone had thrown out a mattress on county property, and the code compliance officer went to see if they could find out who had dumped the trash there,” Job Greene, animal services supervisor at Prince George County Animal Shelter, told The Dodo.
“She looked at the back of the property, and there was Zeus tied to a tree with a bag of dog food.”
When officers got to the location, they found Zeus tied to a tree. Even though he’d been left behind, his tail was wagging as soon as they saw him.
They found a crumpled note on his collar from his owner and it was pretty heartbreaking to read.
The note explained that Zeus was a very good dog, but his owner simply could no longer afford to take care of him.
The note also gave Zeus’s birthday, breed, and medical status. The dog was fixed, but not up to date on his shots. It appears that his owner couldn’t afford to keep up with annual shots for Zeus.
The location where Zeus was left was not ideal. He hadn’t been placed in a public area. In fact, he was dumped off in an area that didn’t get much foot traffic.
“If that code inspector hadn’t happened to be out in the woods, who knows how long he would have been out there — it’s a brown dog tied up in the woods 100 yards off the road, so who would have even seen him?” Greene said to The Dodo.
Once Zeus made it to Prince George Charles County Animal Shelter, it became obvious that he was indeed, a very good dog. Zeus has great manners and has a very spunky spirit.
Zeus wasn’t in the shelter for long. His new mom, Katherine Elliott, saw his story on Facebook and knew that she had to adopt him. She showed up at the shelter 30 minutes before they opened because she knew others were interested in him.
After her previous dog had passed away, she’d been waiting for a sign that it was time to get a new dog, and Zeus was exactly what she and her family needed.
“He’s a perfect match for our family,” His new mom told The Dodo. “We all say, ‘He’s big and goofy, and loves to have fun, just like the rest of us, so he just fits in great.’ It was meant to be.”
Prince George’s County Animal Shelter encourages people who no longer can care for their animals to make sure they go through the proper channels to find that pet a new home.
For anyone who may find themselves in need of rehoming a pet, please reach out to your local animal services. Many areas have resources to assist if they can not assist personally. We are not sure this owner lived in our county.
If they did, please know you may call us. We are always here to assist whether it be with resources that can help financially, with feeding your pet, or even with surrendering him or her to us.
After the shelter posted about Zeus on Facebook, hundreds of people shared his story and commented. Many people debated how they felt this owner handled the situation.
Some felt that the owner was a terrible person for abandoning their animal and in such a poor location. While others applauded the owner for being honest.
Please SHARE Zeus’s story with all of your friends and family on Facebook.
