A senior dog was left facing an uncertain fate after tragedy ripped away the life she once had, leaving her all alone in the shelter.
For the longest time all Roxanne, 13, knew was the happy home she shared with her owner. “The plan was to grow old together,” Bruna, a volunteer at Cobb County Animal Services in Georgia, explained in a video posted to her TikTok, @Sharing.lov3, last month.
Sadly, life had other plans. “Roxanne’s owner passed away,” Bruna, who only gave her first name, told Newsweek. “The family said they couldn’t care for her, so they left her at the shelter.”
Roxanne was surrendered to the shelter at age 13.
TikTok/sharing.lov3
It’s a sad scenario, but sadly it’s one that has played out many times before.
Stephen Hammond, Director of Cobb County Animal Services, told Newsweek: “We find as our population continues to age, more and more senior dogs and cats are outliving their owners. If the owners don’t make arrangements in their wills or have family willing to take their pets, then they most often wind up in shelters. As you can imagine a pet that has lived with you for many years is now confused and lost without you.”
Bruna recalls Roxanne being left “heartbroken and confused” at her sudden change of circumstances. Yet even then, she could see she was a senior dog deserving and capable of seeing out their final few years in a happy home.
“She was a little unsure of her surroundings, but she was a very loving and sweet girl from the beginning,” Bruna said.
It can sometimes be difficult for older dogs to attract attention from visitors. Many end up overlooked, enduring extended stays in the shelter as a result.
In 2021, a study published in the journal Animals, based on data from a raft of no-kill shelters, sought to identify the common characteristics found among long-term shelter dogs.
Time and time again, these dogs were found to be older in age, often ignored in favor of younger and more malleable canines available for adoption.
“Senior dogs are generally harder to adopt out and usually don’t fare well in a shelter,” Hammond said. Sometimes they come with their own challenges and most adopters think they want a puppy. Adopters also think about the heartbreak of bonding with their new pet and then losing them within a few years. “
Hammond notes that there are some but “not enough” willing to take on a senior pet. “They understand the heartbreak and are prepared for that inevitable day yet are willing to come back for the next one,” he said.
Bruna was determined to find one, taking to TikTok and Instagram to champion Roxanne. “Could you give her a nice and loving home for her to spend her golden years?” she asked in a post shared to both platforms. “She doesn’t ask for much, all she asks for is a nice and warm bed, love, and affection.”
Her efforts had the desired effect. The video explaining Roxanne’s situation went viral, amassing over 340,000 views.
More importantly, when the dust had settled on social media, Bruna was pleased to announce that a family had decided to adopt Roxanne.
Not only that, they had gone to incredible lengths to give her the forever home she deserved. “Her new family saw her video here on TikTok and drove all the way here to adopt her,” Bruna revealed. “They said it took them 12 hours to come, and on the way back they left the shelter at noon and arrived back home at 3 am because of traffic.”
Hammond added: “Seeing a dog like Roxanne leave the shelter brings joy to all of us. We see a lot of bad and sad situations in our line of work, but it is times like this when a dog like Roxanne leaves the shelter, we are reminded the good in the world always outweighs the bad. It also provides our Team with renewed purpose and the energy to carry on knowing they are making a difference everyday.
Roxanne is now adjusting to another new environment with her new family in Pennsylvania. While some adjustment will be required, Roxanne has all the attributes needed to make it a happy home.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for a dog that was once facing the most uncertain of futures and a reminder that there is still hope for each and every senior shelter dog.
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