Dog Returned Twice Hasn’t Given Up Hope Despite 1,244 Days At Shelter

Despite getting a false sense of home living twice, one shelter dog is still hopeful his forever family will come forward.

Meet Sid. Originally coming to Long Island’s Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter in 2017 as a puppy, Sid is now 7. He was adopted out twice, but because of incidents in each home where the owners could no longer work with him, he was returned.
Owners often surrender their dogs due to “puppy-like” behavioral issues such as jumping, mouthing, house soiling, excessive barking, or walking poorly on a leash.

However, this German shepherd mix has come a long way since being left at the animal shelter twice. Workers and volunteers are helping Sid with his training and walking. They will take him out a few hours a day on occasion to give him a break from the shelter life.

The July 21 Instagram post about Sid, shared by user @adopt_ky_and_friends, explained he has lived at the shelter for 1,244 days. The shelter is hopeful someone will come forward before he reaches his 2,000th day in the shelter.

The caption reads: “Sid has been doing great here at the shelter working with his shelter buddies on his behavioral needs.” But he still needs a home that will continue to work with him. The hope is he’ll go to an owner who is generally familiar with guarding, according to the post.

Sid would ideally do best in an adult-only home. He should also be the only dog there. That way he will get undivided attention as he continues to work on his training.

The shelter has shared videos of Sid almost daily as his days there continue to tick upward. Just as Sid keeps his head held high with a smile plastered across his face, the shelter is also hopeful Sid will get his happy ending.

Newsweek reached out to the animal shelter via email for additional comment.

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, the 24Pet “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.

Supporting Sid

The Instagram video quickly tugged on heartstrings, bringing in over 12,000 views, 1,224 likes and 230 comments. Optimistic for a better future ahead, viewers flooded the comment section sharing their support for Sid.

“Oh Sid, your time is coming. It is, I know it. This one got me right in the gut,” said an Instagram user, while another commented: “Hang in there, Sid.”

A third person wrote: “Aww Sid, so sorry you are still waiting don’t give up hope. Your amazing furever will see you and come take you home.”

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