A 4-year-old dog has been holding on to hope he’ll be adopted despite challenges and living in an animal shelter for nearly half his life.
Meet Trevor. This American Staffordshire terrier was found running the streets in Trenton, New Jersey. The dog is cross-eyed and suffered a stab wound before coming into the shelter system. One shelter volunteer, Kenneth, told Newsweek he suspects Trevor’s cross-eyed condition is a result of scar tissue following a beating.
Crossed eyes are a condition in which a dog’s eyes do not work together. One or both eyes might drift in another direction instead of focusing on what the dog is looking at. The condition may be caused by genetics, damage to the eye muscle from scar tissue or crossed nerves in the central nervous system that might lead to weakness or improper movement, the website Wag says.
Knowing Trevor’s story and working with him recently, Kenneth is advocating for this shelter dog to find a happy ending. He spent last weekend with Trevor for the first time, noting the dog’s energetic temperament.
“He is a sweet dog, although he gets overly excited, sees things double, assumes things are what they are not,” Kenneth said. “Sometimes gets a little bit a little nippy, I should say, and just is very, very mentally unhappy and stressed.”
Kenneth said Trevor was squinting and in pain by the end of their walk. He hopes there will be a diagnosis soon to help with the dog’s eye pain, and the shelter has collected about $500 toward this.
But until then Trevor patiently waits for his forever family to come forward.
Newsweek contacted the animal control officer and shelter director via phone for additional information.
U.S. Shelter Numbers
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, 24Petwatch’s 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.
In 2023, Associated Humane Societies saw an 11.3 percent increase in animals coming into its shelters, compared with the year before. It attributes this to the rising costs of pet care and supplies, as well as inflation. Currently, 75 animals are listed for adoption at its Forked River, New Jersey, location.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.