A woman forced to give up her dog has been reunited with her thanks to an animal shelter determined to keep the family together.
Lilo the dog was found wandering around Chattanooga in Tennessee recently with a heartbreaking note attached to her collar. The note read:
“Please keep my name. My name is Lilo. Please love me. My mom can’t keep me and is homeless with 2 kids. She tried her best but can’t get help. I cost too much for her. She really loves me, and I’m a great dog and loved to be loved on. Please don’t abuse me.”
Thankfully, Lilo was rescued by a Good Samaritan who took her to the McKamey Animal Center. In turn the shelter posted to social media in hopes that Lilo’s mom would read their message. They wrote:
“To Lilo’s mom: We want you to know she is safe, and we will take the very best care of her. She will be loved by our staff and volunteers, we will keep her name, and we promise you we will do our best to find her a wonderful new home. But if you are reading this, we hope you will come forward to reclaim her.”
“We will help you with whatever you need to care for her, to the best of our ability. Lilo definitely misses you, and we would like nothing more than to see her go back to the family she loves. Either way, please know that we understand, we will not judge, and we are here to help in any way we can.”
The shelter received an outpouring of support with many people hoping for the best for Lilo and her unknown family. The shelter posted an update on January 25th showing Lilo with her mom.
The McKamey Animal Center added, “While we can’t share a lot of the details with you yet, we are actively working with the family to set them up with a safe haven, shelter, and resources to stay together and tackle homelessness.”
“We are thankful for everyone who has advocated for the family, and shared our post. We are amazed at the outpouring of support. It truly takes a community, and you all have certainly shown us how powerful ours is — thank you so much,” they wrote.
They also wanted to encourage people to help families and pets like Lilo. Knowing there are other families in similar situations to Lilo’s they are establishing a fund “dedicated to preventing as many families as possible from being separated from their beloved pets.” They tentatively plan to call the fund the The MAC Cares Fund.
The shelter said, “We want Chattanooga to be a community where pets are truly family, not just for the economically privileged, but for everyone.”
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