Heartbreaking Photo of Dog Waiting for Dead Owner to Return Garners Adoption Offers, a New Home

A stock photo of a dog Illustration - Pixabay

This photo of a dog faithfully waiting at the hospital bedside of his owner is sure to pull at everyone’s heartstrings. Little did this patient dog know that his owner had died and wouldn’t be coming back.

The heart-wrenching photo was uploaded to Facebook by NorthStar Pet Rescue in Boonton, New Jersey. The non-profit organization worked with Eleventh Hour Rescue in the nearby town of Randolph to find Moose a new home. The photo was shared thousands of times.

Moose, a 3-year-old Lab mix, first found himself at an animal shelter in August of 2017 after he was discovered tied to a railroad sign near a Georgia animal shelter. He lived at the shelter for several months, as no one seemed interested in giving him a home.

Unfortunately, the longer his stay there, the closer he came to being euthanized, as there just wasn’t enough room for all the homeless animals. One kindhearted worker who realized Moose could soon be put down was determined to help him, so she put out a call to the Eleventh Hour, asking them for help to save him.

He was transported to the rescue shelter, and they posted Moose’s story on Facebook. The post read:

While at our rescue, Moose made lots of friends with the volunteers. We were won over by his happy personality and his love for life. We were all rooting for Moose to find his perfect home. And then one day, his “dad” discovered him and they fell in love. Moose finally had a loving home of his own.

The future seemed pretty bright for Moose. But a year later tragedy struck and his dad passed away, leaving Moose needing a home once again. Eleventh Hour Rescue’s adoption policy is that if “an adopter cannot keep one of our dogs for any reason, the dog must come back to us,” and so Moose did just that. “No matter how crowded we are, we always make room for one of our own. One of our mottoes is “once an Eleventh Hour dog, always an Eleventh Hour dog.”

NorthStar Pet Rescue wanted to help, so they posted the photo of Moose to their Facebook page, hoping to find a new home for him to help ease his pain. Along with the post, they wrote: “Moose sat patiently next to his dad’s hospital bed, waiting for him to return, not knowing that ‘Dad’ had passed away.

“Poor Moose has now been returned to Eleventh Hour Rescue and he’s taking the loss of his dad pretty hard.”

Together, the two rescue groups worked to ensure Moose was placed in the right home, and plenty of interested readers sent in offers of a home for Moose.

On June 22, Eleventh Hour announced, “Moose has been adopted by a wonderful family who will care for and love him for the rest of his life!”

And, as it turned out, the adopters were locals, making his transition that much smoother for Moose.

There are still plenty of animals in need out there, just like Moose was, looking for a kind home; the reward for those who do adopt can be great in terms of affection, loyalty, or just plain love.