Heartbroken Face of Mother Dog Left Behind at Shelter After Puppies Adopted

Hearts have broken for a mother dog left at the shelter, months after her puppies were all adopted.

The 3-year-old pup Carolina has been at the Palm Valley Animal Society in Edinburg, Texas, for four months, after being left behind when each of her puppies were adopted out one by one.

Shelter worker Aileen told Newsweek that the sweet dog arrived in their care “as a stray, while nursing her puppies.”

“She has been with us since August, and although all her puppies have been adopted, she is still waiting for her forever family.”

The shelter shared Carolina’s story to their TikTok account @palmvalleyanimalsociety on October 21, showing the dog looking lonesome and downhearted, alone in a kennel, and sitting in the corner.

Her head drooping, Carolina made brief eye contact with the camera multiple times, but only briefly, before returning to her depressed, drooping stance.

The shelter wrote across the video: “Though all her puppies have found loving homes, Carolina remains alone at the shelter, still waiting for her chance to be adopted.”

TikTok users were devastated for Carolina, with the video racking up over 13,700 likes and hundreds of comments, and one animal lover wrote: “She deserves a forever home too.”

“She should have gotten a home with one of her puppies so sad,” another posted, as a third added that they were “praying that she gets adopted ASAP.”

And as one comment read: “Sweet Carolina! I hope she is soon adopted into a loving home.”

But, despite it being weeks since Carolina’s video was uploaded and proved popular, it hasn’t yet been enough.

“Carolina is still at the shelter, even after we featured her on TikTok,” Aileen told Newsweek.

“Unfortunately, shelter life has been very stressful for her, and it breaks our hearts to see her looking so sad each day.”

Describing the pup as a “timid girl who craves love and attention,” the shelter is confident that she will “thrive in a loving home” if given the spotlight she “desperately deserves.”

Carolina’s story, sadly, isn’t unique. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), each year around 6.3 million animals enter shelters across the U.S. each year.

However, thanks to the work of shelters, around 2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats are adopted to new homes each year.

Strays like Carolina can sometimes find their way home, if they have one—according to the ASPCA, each year around 810,000 strays who enter shelters are returned to their owners.

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