A rescue dog grieving the loss of his adoptive human has found a new family after a photo of him grieving went viral.
The dog, Moose, was photographed sitting by his human’s hospital bed, patiently waiting for his owner to return, unaware that his owner had passed away.
The photo was posted by Eleventh Hour Rescue along with the dog’s story and a plea to find him a new home a week after Moose’s owner died. Salvera wrote about the photo:
“Moose sat patiently by his owner’s hospital bed, waiting for him to return, not knowing that ‘father’ had died. Poor Moose has now been returned to Eleventh Hour Rescue and is taking the loss of his dad pretty hard.”
The rescue later told TODAY that Moose was also “waiting by the door, waiting for his owner to come home,” according to Moose’s owner’s caretaker. She couldn’t comfort him, so she returned him to Eleventh Hour Rescue so they could try to adopt him.
Moose, a 3-year-old Labrador mix, had a sad story that Eleventh Hour shared. Moose was found tied to a railroad sign outside a Georgia animal shelter in 2017.
“Moose was at that shelter for several months and during that time he had no interest from adopters. This was very unfortunate for Moose. You see, the longer a dog stays at a kill shelter, the closer it is to being euthanized due to overcrowding. Fortunately for Moose, a local shelter volunteer was determined not to let this be his fate.”
The volunteer arranged for a rescue partner to pick up Moose and he was transported to New Jersey, where he quickly won many fans among the volunteers.
“We were won over by his cheerful personality and his love for life. We were all rooting for Moose to find his perfect home. And then, one day, his “father” discovered him and they fell in love. Moose finally had a loving home of his own. The future looked pretty bright for Moose. But a year later, tragedy struck and his owner passed away, leaving Moose in need of a home again.”
The rescue asked if anyone could help Moose’s “heart heal,” either with a foster home or a permanent home.
Moose’s photo and story quickly spread across the Internet, and the rescue soon received several adoption applications. And in three days they announced that “this sweet and loving boy” was adopted.
“MOOSE HAS BEEN ADOPTED by a wonderful family who will care for and love him for the rest of his life! Here’s Moose pictured with his new human siblings (mom and dad were a little camera shy). Thanks again to everyone who shared his story!”
Eleventh Hour revealed that Moose will go to a family of four who recently lost their own dog of 14 years and wanted a dog they could give a home to. They are also friends of one of the rescue volunteers.
We are so happy that Moose now has a chance to heal and has found a forever home. To see more of the dogs Eleventh Hour has available for adoption, visit their website.
