Couple abandons dog at a shelter after learning they are expecting a baby

The visibly affected dog named Smiley was dropped in a crowded Brooklyn shelter by a couple expecting a baby, and placed on the “kill list,” but thanks to the network of animal advocates he was saved.

When Julie Carner, who is already foster mom to another rescued dog named Pitties, heard about Smiley, and how he was at risk of been euthanized if he didn’t find a home quickly, she decided to do what she could to save him.

On October 6, Carner took to her Facebook account to share an adorable picture of the terrified pit bull captioned with an urgent plea for somebody to offer him a home so he could go on living.

According to the Animal Rescue Site, the animal shelter had difficulties dealing with Smiley and decided to put him to sleep if someone didn’t pick him up, even though he was not labeled as aggressive, and was in good health.

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"He has been noted to become uncomfortable with handling at times, especially when a person is reaching over him," the shelter cited as the reason behind their decision regarding Smiley.

But as Carner put it, the poor dog was probably just scared and distressed since the people he considered his family disposed of him as soon as they feared he was going to become a complication.

“By all accounts, he is a just about perfect - friendly and outgoing, loves to play with his ball toys along with squeaky toys, housetrained, he knows commands sit, stay and come in SPANISH, if he pulls on the leash he will slow down when told to, no guarding issues. So why is such a good boy going to be killed?”

-Julie Carner, Facebook, October 6, 2018.

“To think that he was going to be killed because his family was having a baby is crazy. He was such a good save.”

Smiley’s sad eyes and Carner’s heartfelt words written in his behalf, stroke a chord with a woman named Olena Kagui, who was riding the subway with her husband when she came across the post and was taken by the animal.

Kagui had a hard time convincing her husband about fostering Smiley, but in the end, he gave in and thanks to the intervention of local rescue group Pound Hounds Res-Q, they gave him a second opportunity.

“He drank some water and it was … clear that he was house-trained, [and] knew not to jump on the bed or to chew anything except for his toys. But he wouldn’t settle down or look at me all day,” Kagui told the Dodo.

It was understandable that, after going through such an ordeal and experiencing abandonment and betrayal, Smiley was having trust issues with humans, but it only took time, patience and love for him to overcome that.

“Smiley already feels like part of our family. It doesn't take long for a foster dog to make their way into your heart. Our home would already feel empty without him here," Kagui said after a few days of adaptation.

“To think that he was going to be killed because his family was having a baby is crazy. He was such a good save,” said Donna Darrell, founder of Pounds Hounds Res-Q after visiting Smiley at his new home.

It is clear that the previous owners of Smiley took a rushed and careless decision when they got rid of him, but everybody blamed another dog for his difficulty to adapt to his owners after he was rejected by five different homes in just one year.

Ivor is also a pit bull dog that had a rough start in his life after no family wanted to have him because he couldn’t follow any commands until finally, someone found out that the only thing that was wrong with him was his hearing.

After a volunteer performed a hearing test on Ivor, who was reportedly loud and wouldn’t stop barking, it was discovered that the dog was completely deft.

All it took was training Ivor to understand sign language and he was ready to move to a new home with a girl named Ellie Bromilow, and the two got along beautifully.

Sometimes we are devastated to learn about stories of people who think that pets are disposable.

That is why it is important to acknowledge the intense emotions a dog can experience, so owners think twice before renouncing to theirs, and for people thinking about adopting to make up their minds and be of help.

Saving Carson Shelter Dogs, an organization responsible for helping dogs suffering from abuse or neglect to find a new home, posted a video of a crying dog after he realized that he was being abandoned at the shelter.

The footage is so heartbreaking that it soon became viral, as so many people felt empathy toward him and wanted to spread the message about the importance of treating animals fairly and with love.