Dog Overlooked by Adopters Marks 359th Day in Shelter—’70lbs of Pure Love’

A California animal shelter has sent out a plea for someone to adopt a dog who has been sitting and waiting inside the confines of the shelter for nearly a year.

Annie is a 6-year-old large, mixed dog breed living at the Mendocino Coast Humane Society. Despite being well-behaved, knowing basic commands, and having total recall, she has yet to be adopted 359 days later. And the shelter environment is starting to take a toll on her.

Shelter environments are unfamiliar territories for pets, causing them to become stressed and anxious. Animals might feel uncertain, scared, and fearful. The rollercoaster of emotions animals experience while confined in shelters is typically due to loud noises, different routines, human and animal traffic, and a lack of contact with people for most of the day.

Even though Annie is stressed in the shelter environment, she lights up when someone gives her love and attention. The caption pleads: “Adopt Annie! This six year old large mixed breed is seventy pounds of pure love…”

The Mendocino Coast Humane Society is looking for an adopter with a fenced-in home to adopt Annie. The team has also shared that due to Annie’s age, she has chronic eye issues and dental disease, that will need an owner to continue giving attention with help from a vet once adopted.

The animal shelter calls Annie “one of our sweetest dogs” and the team is shocked she has yet to be adopted. Newsweek reached out for additional comment.

The heartbreaking Instagram clip shared to the account @mendocinocoasthumanesociety on April 10 shows nothing but smiles from Annie as she holds onto hope that her forever home is out there.

The video had over 10,100 views, 600 likes, and 35 comments as of Tuesday. People were commenting to help boost her story and that, hopefully, she’ll land on her future adopter’s feed.

“Someone please give this sweet girl a chance and a great home,” said one viewer.

Another added: “Such a pretty girl. Please help!”

U.S. Shelter Numbers

Each year 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet “Shelter Watch Report” found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

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