Whenever an animal shelter takes in a stray dog, it’s often hard to tell what kind of journey the animal had before it got there.
But sometimes there are clues that can either inspire hope for the people caring for that animal or deeply disturb them. Because if the dog has a microchip implanted, that likely means it happened to run away from an owner who’s been worried sick about it for who knows how long and can soon be reunited with the pup.
However, other clues suggest that a dog was either intentionally left behind or escaped an even worse fate that its previous owner had in mind.
But while it’s understandable to become enraged when we hear about cases like that, some circumstances are more complicated and clearly come as the result of a situation that left an otherwise caring owner desperate.
And it was clear to one chapter of the Human Society in Wisconsin that this was the backstory behind some powerful photos that recently spread through social media.
On May 1, Kylie Rose Engelhardt of Green Bay, Wisconsin uploaded two photos to Facebook that captured a dog she found tied to a fire hydrant.
As she explained in her post , the fact that the nearly six-year-old mixed breed dog was sitting near a backpack seemed to give her hope that someone would return for her.
But as Engelhardt wrote, “Sat outside with her for an hour keeping her warm waiting for someone to come back but no one did.”
So after calling the police, Engelhardt brought the dog who would later be identified as Baby Girl to the Green Bay campus of the Wisconsin Humane Society.
According to WFRV , workers there were able to learn the dog’s name from a note her previous owner had left behind that explained they could no longer take care of her.
Although the full contents of this note were not made public, they seemed to hint at medical challenges this person was going through.
As for the backpack, Humane Society staff would discover that it was packed with care.
As People reported , it contained food, treats, toys, and other items that workers believed to be Baby Girl’s favorite things.
At last report, Baby Girl remains under their attentive care and is currently serving a mandatory “stray hold” period at the shelter. Although staff are looking for leads to identify the animal’s previous owner, they’re also preparing to find another family for Baby Girl.
And while they understood that the photos of Baby Girl would emotionally resonate with people, they wanted to address the owner directly to tell them they weren’t anywhere near as angry.
As a representative from the Humane Society wrote on Facebook, they could see from how they packed the bag, the way they prevented Baby Girl from being hit by a car by securing her to the hydrant, and the visibility of where they left her that this was a loving person making a hard decision to part with their best friend.
In the representative’s words, “We see your love in the note you left, pleading for someone to help her when you no longer could.”
Last Updated on May 6, 2022 by Mason Joseph Zimmer