Sick dog abandoned on the street refuses food until one loving family showed up for him
A rescue dog refuses to interact with anyone, and the internet can't help but feel sad for the old canine. Barkley's story left everyone overwhelmed when social media found out that he was wandering around in a trailer park when some rescuers brought him to the Daviess County Animal Shelter in Kentucky. According to the Wonderpups, the senior dog is believed to have been abandoned by his owners.
Iheartdogs also shared the news of Barkley's state and how he was moved from the shelter to Secondhand Hounds for better care. But the initial days at the shelter were not easy when the staff saw Barkley in a severely distressed state, refusing to take part in any sort of activity — even eating. The dog kept staring at the wall and sitting in a corner, sulking. The feeling of being abandoned by his owners was not easy to accept, and Barkley stayed aloof for weeks, saying no to walks or any kind of interaction. The rescuers and staff members realized that the reason behind Barkley's abandonment could be his health condition. When the dog arrived, he was in a terrible state, with his teeth requiring immediate dental care, and his paws showing sustained urine burns. Barkley, thus, may have been considered a financial burden by his owners, leading to their decision to abandon him. From the looks of it, it seemed apparent that the owners neither knew nor bothered to find out how to care for him.
As reported by CNBC, "In 2022, 40% of the dogs that have come into the shelter have been relinquished by their owners as a result of housing or financial constraints." In another report by the National Library of Medicine, between 2008 and 2019, about 31–35% of dogs taken into shelters were abandoned by their guardians. The main relinquishment reasons turned out to be having too many pets (19%), housing problems (17%), personal issues (15%), financial difficulties (10%), dog behavior (10%), and the guardian’s health (8%).
In the caption of the now-deleted video, the shelter shared the dog's condition: "This is Barkley, he is a very urgent senior Dachshund or sheltie mix. His paws appear to have urine burns and are raw, and his nails are super long. It also seems like his teeth are in rough shape, and he needs dental care badly. Barkley was found as a stray in Lamplite trailer park and he appears to have been abandoned. This little guy is pretty terrified right now and will 'belly-roll' with any leash pressure. If you can get him to trust you, you can pick him up and he lightens his defenses. What you see in this video is what shelter staff are faced with each day while cleaning."
The staff at Secondhand Hounds, however, did not give up, and Barkley was slowly on his way to recovery. After a while of consistent efforts, the dog finally responded to their kind gestures and started eating and interacting with the staff members. Another happy event took place when a loving family adopted Barkley to spend his senior days in warmth and love. However, unfortunate news came through with the passing of Barkley within two years of being adopted. He was dealing with an incurable cancer mass on his spine that led to his death. What the staff members found reassuring was how Barkley got to spend his last days in a loving environment, surrounded by his new family. Perhaps Barkley had been waiting for a small taste of belonging, of love and ownership, before he finally let go.