A puppy left chained to a bench in Mexico City, Mexico, growled warily at passersby.
A heartbreaking note, pinned beneath rocks beside him, revealed why: the puppy had been abused by his owners, and a young member of the family who couldn’t stand by and watch, and who worried over his welfare, tied his pet there.
The 7-month-old puppy, Max, renamed Boston by the rescuers, was not the first abandoned pet Goldberg had seen since the onset of the pandemic, but Max’s note was especially poignant.
“Hi, please adopt me,” read the note, as translated from Spanish.
“Please, I ask that you adopt this cute dog and you take good care of him. It hurts a lot to leave my dog here but I made the decision of leaving him because my family used to mistreat him,” the author continued, “and it would always hurt me to see him in that condition.”
The heartfelt note signed off with a plea: “If not, please leave the letter here so another person can read it and adopt him. Thanks.”
Footage of Goldberg’s first interaction with Max, posted on Twitter, shows the dog cowering in fear as the rescuer extends her hand toward him.
“But they could not get close because the puppy was terrified, growling, and snipping.”
Goldberg called a trainer with experience handling aggressive dogs, donned thick gloves, and followed instructions for approaching the dog in the safest way, reported The Dodo.
Before long, she had a leash over the dog’s head and his demeanor changed immediately.
Goldberg and Galindo gently ushered Max into their car and drove him to their premises, where he visibly calmed and allowed himself to be petted.
The rescuers renamed him Boston to erase the pain of the past and delighted in his gradual transformation.
“He is sweet, very affectionate,” Goldberg told The Dodo. “[H]e loves to give kisses and play with the ball that the vet gave him.”
Just days after being rescued as a terrified pup on a lonely park bench, Boston is a relaxed, healthy, adoptable dog.
The Mascotas Coyoacán team is processing applications in the hopes of finding Boston the forever home he deserves.