Heartbroken video shows shelter dog watches all her puppies get adopted while she's ignored

Adopting a dog isn't just about owning them for fun; it's a long-term commitment where the owners must give them the unconditional love that they deserve. But when most people walk into a shelter, they mostly choose the younger puppies, assuming they're easy to handle and free from health issues, and often walk past the adult or senior dogs, dismissing them for being 'less desirable.' This is exactly what happened to Pretzel, a mother dog, the longest resident of the Humane Society of Broward County (@humanebroward), an animal shelter in Florida. In a tear-jerking video, the rescue home captured the innocent dog sitting alone in her kennel, watching every other puppy get adopted, while she continues to be overlooked. 

Pretzel, a 3-year-old mama dog, was abandoned by a neglectful, cruel owner right after she raised her puppies. Later, she somehow entered the shelter, and since then, the baby has been waiting to find her forever happy home. "Sadly, this is the reality for many adult dogs. While the puppies get adopted quickly, our wonderful adult dogs can wait months to find a family," the shelter explained, highlighting the heartbreaking reality. When Pretzel saw a younger dog being taken out of its kennel, she knew this was just another baby who had found its loving home, but her face fell immediately as she realized she still had to spend another night at the shelter, dreaming about a place to call home.

Moving on, the shelter revealed that Pretzel is very gentle, but understandably a little cautious around humans because of his traumatizing past. However, once she feels safe, her true personality shines through, making her an absolute sweetheart. "She’s ready for a home where she can feel safe, loved, and never left behind again," they wrote, urging potential kind adopters to give Pretzel a second chance at life. According to a report by Pet Pardon, senior or adult dogs are usually the last ones to be adopted, spending 4 times longer than any other younger dog at a shelter, as most adopters usually choose puppies over them. 

Meanwhile, when the animal shelter shared Pretzel's story, the post received an overwhelming response online. For instance, echoing the sentiments, @kells commented, "I am so insanely thankful for the workers and volunteers at shelters because it must break their hearts to see these angels every day getting passed over." Similarly, @yliananyree said, "This broke my heart because you see she’s had litters of puppies, and she must feel so used, and being somewhere where it’s a constant reminder of your mistreatment is so heartbreaking. She probably has trauma from seeing puppies being carried away from her as well."

Another user, @ciar_raigh_ _, pointed out, "It is not fair, however, they got there, but you can give them love and a safe home; they are precious lives." On the other hand, @reeddoggiesasha urged, "Older dogs are great and often housebroken, and some are even trained. Don’t overlook these guys!" @caittt1031 revealed, "Poor baby. When I was growing up, pretty much every dog we had was a shelter dog. Two of the very best boys were the senior lab mixes my parents adopted when I was in high school."

You can follow Humane Society of Broward County (@humanebroward) on Instagram for more dog-adoption stories.