An animal rescue was shocked when a family surrendered a healthy dog asking for him to be euthanized — and made an even more disheartening discovery when the dog found a familiar face at the shelter.
In May, Hearts for Paws, a rescue based in California, shared the sad story of a a 3-year-old black Labrador retriever who had been surrendered to their care.
The dog, named Godric, was brought him by his family after he reportedly bit their baby who had crawled into his food bowl. But the family didn’t just want to give their dog up — they also wanted Godric to be euthanized.
Thankfully the shelter didn’t go through with putting Godric to sleep, and Hearts for Paws reported that he was a “sweet” dog. “It was hard to believe his family wanted him euthanized,” they wrote in a video.
But when they saw Godric playing with another dog in their yard, it led to another heartbreaking discovery: the other dog, 6-year-old Sadie, had been surrendered by the very same family weeks prior, reportedly because she “growled” at the baby.
“The family requested the shelter euthanize them both,” Hearts for Paws wrote.
It’s understandable that parents would be protective of their newborn baby — “No one wants a baby getting hurt,” Hearts for Paws wrote — but the rescue said that even if they wanted to get rid of their dogs, it was their responsibility to rehome them, and specifically asking for them to be euthanized was uncalled for.
They also wrote that the dogs’ behavior did not necessarily make them aggressive — in fact they called them “exceptionally sweet.”
“ANY dog has the potential to bite under unfair circumstances & growling shouldn’t be punished nor should it be a death sentence; growling is how dogs communicate & vital to ensure bites don’t happen,” they wrote.
Many people online were outraged and upset by the story. “Praying that this family never tries to get another dog again,” one comment reads. “Some people don’t deserve dogs.”
“I volunteer at a shelter and the amount of dogs surrendered for being “aggressive” and then they turn out to be the sweetest,” another wrote. “People are the problem, we are able to re-home them all to a family that deserves them!”
Hearts for Paws clarified that the family did not adopt Godric and Sadie from them; they speculated that they bought them from a breeder.
In an update this month, they wrote that Godric was in a foster-to-adopt home, and Sadie became the shelter’s longest resident before being transferred to Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, California, and is reportedly still looking for a home.